Product: Shinobi
by drunkdragon
Summary: AU. In a world where ninjutsu and guns coexist, a dark conspiracy unfolds, threatening to engulf the world in war and chaos. Confirmed pairings are SasuSaku, NaruHina.
1. Prologue

I know, I know. I'm insane for starting another fic right after finishing "Encyclopedia Ninja." But I simply couldn't get this storyline out of my head.

I decided to base this story off of the popular online game called Gunz: The Duel. As the name infers, this fic will involve guns, but I will also mix it with Naruto-esque things, like jutsus and whatnot. In my opinion, Gunz is a great game and you should all play it. You can get download it at gunzonline . com. If you ever want to find me in there, my screenname for the game is Donutholes.

This is just a prologue because of all the fics I've written, this is the only fic that really needs one.

I do not own Naruto or Gunz.

Onward!

* * *

Prologue 

It was almost over. From the two hundred test subjects, only three remained. Uchiha Itachi was in the stands surrounding an arena protected by bulletproof glass. Though it was just melee weapons they were using, it always paid to be safe.

The testing process was very long and tedious. First, they had to make sure that each one was capable of basic hand-eye coordination, proper body function and chakra control, etc. All of them had passed the test, except for one. The scientists were unable to awaken him from suspended animation and he was 'disposed' of.

Itachi walked around until he found his seat. It was gold plated. He was the head scientist, so he deserved the spot, he concluded. He peered into through the glass into the arena.

The next test was for ambidextrousness. To all of the scientists' surprise, only one subject failed. She was left-handed. Even though it was often an advantage in this world, she was 'disposed' of.

Itachi watched as the remaining three subjects approached the center of the arena. The three subjects looked at each other. It was hard to tell what their expressions were.

The next several tests were the most rigorous. They had given them each a dagger. They were placed in front of a machine gun and told to either dodge or block the shots. Only half of the original 198 got by without getting hurt. The other ninety-nine were killed, most of them by the first few shots. The process was repeated again, this time with a katana, then dual kodachis. Only one was hurt, and it was a minor scratch across his cheek. He was still 'disposed' of.

Although more than half of the original subjects were now dead, the experiment so far was a great success. They were strong, fast, and smart.

They were also rebellious, another success. But most importantly, they were emotionless. They did not feel. Save one. Any other would have been 'disposed' of, but this test subject had received top marks on all of the tests. And so, he was kept alive. Itachi heard the test curator over the loudspeaker.

"In front of you lies a melee weapon. You are to use that to kill your opponent. The match will end when one has been killed."

After the melee test, each was given a pair of handguns and sent to a shooting range. The subjects were to shoot at the targets, aiming as best as they could at a tiny circle on the head. After that, they were handed a new set of weapons while the targets were replaced. And so the test continued, ranging from submachine guns to rifles to shotguns and eventually stopping at compact rocket launchers. Of all of the subjects, only ten passed. Though the other ninety-six did just as well, many they were unable to fire a rocket launcher properly, mistaking the powerful recoil and missing their targets, although only by a small margin.

They were still 'disposed' of.

Itachi thought back to how the compact rocket launchers weren't too compact. Although it functioned well and its design was revolutionary, it was still very heavy. However, the point was that the rocket launchers could be reloaded easily, removing the reel of empty rocket casing and replacing it with another one. Also, the gun was operable by one man. That in its self was a tremendous leap in weaponry. Itachi looked down into the arena.

It would appear that the blonde-haired one was given the short end of the stick. He was given a dagger to fight with while the red-haired male received a katana and the last, a brunette female, had the two kodachis.

"Begin," the curator said.

The next test was where the best would be separated from the others. Their names were randomly picked to form two teams of three and two teams of two. They were given a wide assortment of weapons and each team of two went against a team of three. It was a battle to the death. Some of them had frozen up when the match began, too afraid to defend themselves. A team of three and two passed and were pitted against each other. Only these three remained of the original two hundred subjects.

Still, it was considered a success. They had managed to implant the knowledge of weaponry as well as speech and social skills, something read about only in science fiction novels. Itachi leaned in, eager to see what would happen. It was expected for the blonde one to get the dagger, as he was the one who felt emotions. It was viewed as an impurity, a flaw, and he had to be 'disposed' of. Straining his ears, he could hear the blonde one talking.

"Kind of unfair, isn't it?"

The other two made no motion of pity. Instead, they began to circle him, their weapons ready to strike.

"Not going to talk huh?" the blond asked. He twirled the dagger in his hands before clutching it. "Well, come on. I'm waiting."

* * *

That had taken place several days ago. Everyone who had seen the battle was astonished when the blonde killed the brunette with one swift strike to her side. He pushed the entire side of his dagger through the side of her abdomen, cutting her intestines and kidney. They were also surprised when he gently whispered sorry into her ears before she collapsed lifelessly at his feet. 

Uchiha Itachi walked quickly through the containment chambers of the two remaining subjects, carrying a rather important file with him. His higher up had told him that it was time to commence with the plan. They were resting, having been put through a few more tests (neither of them would have been 'disposed' of if they had failed). He unlocked the doors and placed a katana outside each before quickly retreating.

The fact that he was a shinobi helped him reach his destination faster. He warily made his way to the main control room, one hand ready to pull out his silenced pistol if he needed to. Luckily, he made it with no encounters. Opening the door, he stepped inside.

There was a scientist, most likely compiling a few papers together before leaving. He turned around to face Itachi. "Ah, Itachi-san, its nice to see you."

As ordered if such a scenario occurred, Itachi pulled out his silenced pistol and killed the scientist. Itachi then locked the door, making sure that no one could get in. He walked to the main control panel. It was a large computer built with state-of-the-art technology.

"Voice recognition required." It was a robotically feminine voice.

"Uchiha Itachi."

"Voice recognized." A control screen dropped from the ceiling, one that only he could use. He quickly tapped the screen a few times, bringing up a list of menus. He looked at the one on the very bottom.

It read "Activate Seal"

Looking down at the file he had in his hand, he opened it up and stared at the picture of the blonde.

Name: Uzumaki Naruto

Age at time of Creation: 19

Hair Color: Blonde

Eye Color: Blue

Seal: Spiral located on abdomen

Abnormalities: Feels emotions

Rather basic. He turned his view to the picture of the redhead on the right.

Name: Sabaku Gaara

Age at time of Creation: 19

Hair Color: Red

Eye Color: Green

Seal: Kanji character representing 'love' on forehead

Abnormalities: None

He closed the folder. After this, he and his higher up would be the only people who knew of these two's existence, as well as this experiment. Looking at the touch panel again, he pressed the activate button. If all had gone well, then the power the two would receive upon the activation would drive them into temporary insanity until the seal died down. Hopefully they would kill whoever was in their way, mostly the scientists.

The scientists weren't a true concern. The power would reach a critical point most likely disrupting the energy source within the facility, causing it to explode and take everyone save the two of them with it. They would not remember anything that had happened. Not the testing, not the people who failed the test, and not the test curators. Preparations were done to make sure that it would happen this way. The only things they would remember is how to fight and kill.

Turning away from the panel, he strode to the door, unlocking it and using his shinobi training to escape the facility. He still held onto the file. Reaching an exit, he thrust the door open before leaping off of the top of the facility.

He would be fine. He was Uchiha Itachi, of course, a prodigy known throughout the world. Deep down inside though, he was only thinking about one thing.

His higher up was a cruel, cruel man.

He was a smart man.

But a cruel man.

* * *

My goodness, I love writing parts with Itachi in it. It's so fun making him into things that are far from the manga's view of him. In here, his character willnot be clearcut good or bad, at least for now. As for pairings... I really don't know if I should put them in here. Maybe a few hints, but I do not know if I should make it streamline in this fic. It wil depend on what I make this fic to be. 


	2. Sasuke: An Odd Job

Ugh. I'm sick with what I think is a cold. I had to walk home yesterday in a heavy rain, and I feel like crap. Either way, I have decided to work a little harder on this chapter so I could get it up by today. Quite a bit of reviews, I guess elevens not too bad for a four-page prologue.

Devinj2000: As you said, I have decided to put in pairings. However, there will be no voting, since I have decided on the two mainstream pairings.

Kikuchu: I'm not sure about the ShikaTema, but I'll see what will happen.

LINKed up: I'm really thinking about a sequel, but I have no plot for it. So unless you want to see a return of Rugal, then I highly doubt I'll make a sequel. Sorry.

Zolar: What server do you play in? I tend to play in server two and three now.

Also, a few notes: I've decided to make this fic so that it's one chapter about Sasuke, then one about Naruto and that they switch back and forth. My plan is that whatever one of them does, it affects the story of the other. Kind of like Resident Evil 2 (I think?)

I've also completely switched the romantic roles of Sakura and Sasuke. It's kind of like an experiment, really.

I do not own Gunz or Naruto.

Onward!

* * *

Chapter 1: An Odd Job

All along the walls hung guns. Long guns, short guns. Loud guns, quiet guns.

He loved this room. Every wall he looked at, there was something new for him to test out whether it be a rifle or shotgun or whatever they came up with next. Nothing was ever old in this room.

Plus it was a wonderful way to relieve stress, which he had lots of.

Welcome to the Experimental Weapons Facility, where hundreds of weapons manufacturers send their prototype weapons to be tested. Also, there would be a few homemade weapons as well. From pistols to rocket launchers and all in between, he could find it here.

Of course, not very many people were granted access to here. Only jounins and up were allowed into the Experimental Weapons Facility. Genins and chuunins had separate weapon rooms and could not gain entry to the experimental facility. Genins were given pistols and submachine guns, both usually in sets of two, along with the rare assault rifle or combat shotgun, depending on how good they were. Chuunins were granted access to assault rifles (although he distinctly remembered seeing a kunoichi with a bolt action rifle), combat shotguns, and light machine guns.

That was usually as far as a shinobi got as far as rank goes. Not even a quarter of the genins that made it through their first year as a shinobi would become chuunins. But to reach jounin level required quick thinking, aim, and a fast trigger finger. At least, that was how it was in Konoha.

To become a jounin was like becoming a celebrity. The people instantly recognized the jounin as a skilled shinobi, the top of the crop. If not known because of their faces, then they were known because of the highly destructive weaponry they were allowed to carry. By reaching the level of jounin, one was allowed to carry rocket launchers and double action revolvers (single action revolvers were outdated and only seen in movies that were blown way out of proportion with real life), usually branded with the family insignia.

Each shinobi also carried smaller items of weaponry as well. Flash tags, smoke tags, and explosive tags were the norm. Every so often, there was a shinobi that knew what he was doing with the human body and he or she would carry a medical kit. Of course, there were medical jutsus around. But on the battlefield, one had to conserve chakra. The med kits were slower, but it was an equal tradeoff in the eyes of the council.

He walked over to the wall that held revolvers. The light reflected off of them and into his eyes. He glanced around until he found what he wanted.

The new set of revolvers had just come in, he heard from the person outside. They looked very promising to the man. Reaching up, he grabbed a pair of eight-chambered revolvers.

Each one weighed quite a bit, he thought to himself. But he wanted to give them a test run. Walking across the door he entered from, he stepped through the threshold before closing the door.

He was in an elevator. Looking down the buttons, he smiled before pressing the button that read 'Shooting Range.' As the elevator went down, he examined the pair of guns. They were silver colored, most likely plated with it. To make a whole revolver out of silver was a waste of time and money. Opening up the chamber, he was surprised to see that it was very different from the normal ones.

They were deeper and wider than the ones he had seen before.

He smiled. He liked this gun already.

Finally, the elevator stopped. Stepping out, there was a bar code scanner on his left. Putting the bottom of the handle against it, the machine read the code before processing the information. The screen above it displayed the information about the gun.

He ignored most of them, simply glancing at the screen until he reached the caliber of the bullets used.

His eyes widened. .65 caliber. Most revolvers only went to .45.

The chinking of metal against metal reawakened his senses. He turned to a slot next to it. The machine dispensed the bullets and the last of thirty-two fell into the pile. Picking one up, he felt the weight before slowly filling both chambers of the revolvers.

Damn.

They were really heavy now.

Shaking the thought from his head, he put the other bullets into his pouches, one on each side of his waist.

Finally ready, he prepared the final thing for his test run. Setting the revolvers on the table in front of him, he pressed a button.

Two pieces of plastic with the shape of the top of a person made its way down from the ceiling. Taking out his own pair of revolvers, he fired both of them at the chest of one. Two fairly large holes appeared where they struck. Refilling the chambers that were empty, he put his revolvers away and picked up the experimental ones. Now aiming at the other one, he pulled the triggers.

The recoil was more than he expected it to be. His arms were almost thrown all the way behind his back and above his head if he hadn't managed to keep a hold of it. He looked at the target.

Two very large holes were now occupying where the dummy's lungs would have been. He smiled.

Now he _really_ liked these guns.

Aiming once more, he instilled some chakra into his arms to help fight the recoil. He began to pull the triggers again and again until no more bullets remained. Flicking them to the side, the chambers flew out of place before being tilted back to empty it of casings. Reaching for the counter, he grabbed the remaining sixteen bullets, eight in each hand. He reloaded his left gun with his right hand and his right gun with his left hand. He pushed the chambers back into place. Once again he pulled the triggers, this time leaving only one bullet in each.

'_And now, the finisher.'_

He crossed his arms over his chest, his wrists the point of intersection. He then pushed his the bottom of his palms together. His eyes became red as he finished off with his arms locked and crossing each other in front of him at his wrists.

The crackling of electricity echoed off the walls like the chirps of a thousand birds. "Chidori!" Uchiha Sasuke yelled as he pointed his revolvers (which had blue lightning sparking out of it at random intervals) at the dummy and pulled the trigger. With his Sharingan activated, he was able to see to faint streaks of blue as the electrically charged bullets pierced through the air before traveling through the dummy and bouncing off of the jutsu-protected wall behind it, sucking the chakra out of the bullets.

The dummy was now just a smoldering piece of plastic, riddled by the previous bullets and melted by the electricity of the Chidori. He smiled.

Emptying the chambers, Sasuke reentered the elevator and pressed the button for Experimental Weapons Facility, or more commonly known to the jounin shinobis as 'The Toy Closet.' But most simply called it the 'Closet' for short.

Uchiha Sasuke was one of the more famous jounins of Konoha. Carrying a katana, he was mysterious and dashingly good-looking. Becoming one at the age of nineteen, he was the idol of many aspiring shinobis of the village and the apple of many a girls' (sometimes women's) eye. He carried around a pair of revolvers and kept a pair of pistols as back up, both branded with the Uchiha fan on the sides. He wore a jounin vest with a blue top beneath along with tailored-to-fit (Konoha covered the cost) beige cargo pants. It allowed maximum movement while still being comfortable. In his hip pouches he carried ammunition as well as a set of explosive tags and flash tags. His Konoha forehead protector was over his forehead.

He was the last of the Uchihas.

Well, one of the remaining two. The Uchiha clan was a dying one, though its bank account would have said otherwise, being filled to the brim with money. Although some in the clan were gifted with the Sharingan, many of them never reached the level of chuunin, being killed on missions. Eventually, the numbers dwindled down to just Sasuke, his parents and…

Sasuke's father was one of the rare few that reached the level of jounin that loved revolvers. His mother was a chuunin, specializing in rifles. However, his mother and father were both killed in a mission. Although he didn't know the true details (forensics went only so far) he wanted to believe that they died happy and in each other's arms.

That just left Sasuke and his brother, Itachi. But in truth, that only left Sasuke, for his brother Itachi had left him long before his mother died. He still remembered what his brother had said.

"The time when you have eyes like mine will be the time when I come back," his brother told him before Itachi flashed his fully developed Sharingan at a naïve thirteen-year old Sasuke. He could barely register the fact that Itachi's Sharingan had three black whorls that contrasted with his red iris before he vanished into the night, never to be seen or heard from again except in rumors and urban myths. Each night before his parents were killed, all three of them prayed to the gods that someday Itachi would come back. Now it was just him that prayed for it.

Sasuke wanted to know why his brother disappeared. Everyday, he scanned the newspapers from a street vender for something that could lead to the whereabouts of Itachi. He wanted to know why Itachi had left him and his family. He didn't hate him.

He simply wanted a reason.

But it seemed that the only way for Sasuke to get his brother's attention is to obtain the full Sharingan. Right now, his Sharingan allowed him to read how the enemy would move and where the bullets would come from, giving him a split-second advantage. But there was still much space to improve upon.

And so, Sasuke trained. He trained harder than any shinobi was known to do, continually pushing his limits in hopes of matching his brother's strength. He knew that he was close, for Itachi also reached jounin level. But he needed to obtain the last piece to the puzzle.

As Sasuke stepped out of the elevator, he approached a counter. On it was a clipboard. Attached to it was an opinion sheet, asking for the name of the gun, who tested it, and whether it met their standards. Taking a look at the side, he saw the logo: a target, the sign of Hyouteki Corporations. They had a good history of making reliable revolvers and pistols. In fact, Sasuke's current pistols were made by it.

His revolvers however were handmade by his father.

The experimental revolvers were given the name of Hyouteki 587. He signed his name in the appropriate box before leaving a check in the box of approval. He regretfully placed the revolvers into a bin that was for weapons already tested. It was a pair of good guns.

He turned to leave the Closet. As he opened the door, he stepped out into the lit hallways of Konoha Academy. Walking to the nearest exit, he pushed open the door.

And then he saw _her_.

Then again, how could he not? She had natural bubble gum pink hair, a definite eye catcher. She had emerald green eyes and a body that most women would die for. The only flaw was that she had an abnormally large forehead, but that was something so miniscule that Sasuke did not bother to pay attention to.

Too bad she was off limits.

It's not that she had a boyfriend or anything like that. For all he knew, she never had one, which was rather hard to believe. Most shinobis married at a very young age, some as young as sixteen. Hell, his parents had Itachi when they were only eighteen. According to the village's method of measuring age, Sasuke was a bit old. She wasn't off limits because she was already involved with someone else.

She was off limits because she practically closed herself from the world. The only things she did that involved society a bit were buy groceries and supplies and train as a shinobi.

Her name was Haruno Sakura. She was eighteen and had no family; her grandparents died before she was born and her parents were accused of plotting to betray Konoha when she was six. They were executed almost immediately, leaving Sakura to grow up alone in the world.

As she went through the academy, she slowly realized that the bedtime stories that her parents told her weren't true. That was the second time she felt betrayed. She pushed away anyone that ventured near her by being silent and mean. It was said that Sakura hadn't smiled for twelve years. She focused only on her fighting ability and was now a respected chuunin with potential as a jounin.

She was a dagger specialist, one of the few in Konoha. Although many picked swords over the dagger because of the obvious range advantage, daggers were dangerous in their own right. They were faster to attack with and weighed much less than swords, allowing the wielders to usually move faster than sword users.

Besides using a dagger, she slung a rifle on her back and carried a pistol on a hip holster, both guns produced by Hyouteki. She had fairly good aim, even when she was moving quickly. She also carried around the standard explosive tags as well as flash tags. She wore a chuunin vest with a form-revealing red t-shirt as well as tight black jeans, the only things standing between her and bullets and blades. She wore the standard shinobi sandals and black fingerless gloves. That was all she could wear (besides undergarments), since anything else would have weighed too much. Other than those, she wore a Konoha forehead protector where it belonged.

The villagers and shinobis referred to her as 'The Pride and Shame of Konoha'. Pride because she was so talented but shame because she was antisocial, most likely meaning that she would never have a family to add to the population.

Deep down inside him, Sasuke felt stupid about somehow gaining a crush on Haruno Sakura. She wouldn't return his love. She wouldn't accept it. She'd probably break his heart in two before feeding it to a meat grinder. Then she would probably leave it for the dogs to eat.

No matter how hard he tried to push her away from him though, her pink hair always came back to him and he would pity her.

Perhaps it was because of a memory he had before her parent's execution.

Flashback 

A six-year old girl was absent-mindedly swinging on a swing. It was late. She didn't know where parents were, but that was okay. It meant that she could stay on the swing longer. Seven-year old Sasuke observed from behind an adjacent building, watching her pink hair swing back and forth.

Sasuke's parents and brother were out on a mission. Normally, that would mean he had more time to play on the swings. But today was different.

She was sitting on his swing.

Gritting his teeth, he ignored the matter and walked up to the swing next to her. He would still have a good time, whether it was on his swing or not. He began to kick his legs back and forth, eventually gaining a high altitude. The pink haired girl looked up at him.

"How do you go so high?" she asked.

"You push your legs back and forth. Everyone knows that," Sasuke remarked.

"But I don't go as high as other kids…" she trailed off.

"Just push harder."

"But I push really hard! I still can't get as high as you!" the little girl was almost on the verge of tears. Her swing slowly began to descend, going lower and lower before coming to a full stop.

That was when she felt a pair of hands on her back. She turned around to see the raven-haired boy.

"Let me push you then," He started off gentle, slowing adding more force as she went higher and higher. Stepping to the side so he wouldn't be hit by the swing, he watched as she went back and forth, pushing her legs to and fro. She smiled and laughed.

They never exchanged names, as Sasuke's parents appeared before walking him away. But as Sasuke looked back, he could still see the young girl smiling and laughing on the swing, going higher than she had ever gone before.

End Flashback 

That was the last time he saw her smile. Every other time after, she was frowning or had a hard look on her face. He doubted that she knew who the boy that pushed her was. Heaving a sigh, he continued walking.

That's when _she_ saw him. Sakura confronted him.

His heart pounded. It was most likely that she would say the bare minimum to get a point across. But he had to prepare himself, just incase she said something else.

"Ready to train?" she asked in her usual cold voice, almost devoid of emotion.

Nothing out of the ordinary, "Yeah," Sasuke replied.

"Let's go then."

Sakura had a rather… unique method of training. She would challenge someone to a spar. If she won, she would train for the week and then challenge someone else. If she lost, she would train and then challenge the same person again.

So far, it was zero to seven, Sasuke's favor. He couldn't tell whether it was a good thing or a bad one.

He followed quietly behind her, her tight black pants greatly distracting him. Her hips rocked back and forth, mesmerizing him. He stopped and took a deep breath before looking at the back of her head and following her once more. Eventually, they reached a wall. Adding chakra to their legs, they both jumped over and landed safely inside the grounds. A wall surrounded the training grounds. It was used to contain bullets that were fired from guns. The pair walked to the center before Sakura turned to face him.

"Any guidelines for today, Sakura-san?" Sasuke asked before drawing and preparing his pistols.

"Just one," she said before taking out her dagger, "no killing."

That was obvious in Sasuke's jurisdiction, as he wanted both of them to see a happier future.

"Go."

Sasuke immediately took aim with his pistols and fired at Sakura, who had ducked as soon as they were pointed at her. She immediately closed in on Sasuke and pulled out her own pistol before firing at him. Sidestepping, he put the pistol in his right hand away and pulled out his sword before blocking her dagger.

Pushing her away from him, he positioned himself in front of a wall. He watched as she put away her weapons and drew out her rifle. Putting his other pistol away, he placed his sword in a defensive position and began to emit chakra towards the front of his body as well as circulate it in his limbs.

The technique was the most basic. First the person would emanate chakra from their body. Then, they would circulate chakra throughout their limbs, allowing increased speed. The theory was that the chakra field would react to bullets and send feedback to the person about their trajectory. Then, the user could determine whether or not the bullet would hit them. If it would, then the chakra in their limbs would allow faster movement of the arms and body to either block or evade.

Sakura let her rifle fire, sending a barrage of bullets. As Sasuke felt them pierce his chakra radar, he began to block and dodge. He closed his eyes so that he wouldn't become dizzy at his own movements.

All of a sudden, the bullets stopped. Looking around and finding no one, he looked up to see Sakura ready to plunge her dagger into him. He carefully tumbled out of the way while sheathing his sword and taking out his pistols again and fired. He watched as Sakura dodged the bullets, becoming a pink, red, and black blur.

Hearing clicks, he pressed pulled the hammers at the end of his pistols back with his thumbs. The empty clips fell to the ground with a clatter. As Sakura noticed that Sasuke was no longer shooting, she pulled out her dagger and began to rush at him again, faster than before. He tumbled sideways and pulled out two pistol clips and loaded them into his pistols.

He quickly took aim at Sakura and fired both pistols. He suddenly realized that she was too close to him and would not be able to block or dodge the bullet. His heart began to beat against his chest. He watched as a cloud of blood exploded from her right shoulder and arm. She let out a pained yelp and clutched her shoulder, leaning on the wall with on her left. Wanting to end the match, he pulled out his sword and quickly moved up to her, placing the sword at her neck and pushing her against the wall.

"I win," Sasuke said, relieved.

Sakura disappeared in a poof, leaving only a log with two bullets lodged in it. Grimacing, he attached a flash tag, activated it, and kicked it away. Quickly, he spun around to see a pistol pointed between his eyes. She fired her pistol before watching Sasuke disappear in a cloud of smoke.

What was left behind was the first log. With Sasuke's timing as impeccable as ever, the flash tag detonated only fractions of a second after he switched places with the log. Before Sakura could react the light blinded her. She let out surprised yell before seeing only white. Calmly, Sasuke walked next to her and laid his blade gently on her shoulder, the sharp side pointing at her neck.

"Now I win."

Sakura let out an annoyed huff. Retracting his sword, Sasuke sheathed it before offering a hand to her. Ignoring it, she stood up and put her knife away. She reloaded her weapons before walking to the wall and leaping over it.

She was mad.

Then again, she was always mad. It's just that she was madder than before.

Today, she had lost once again to Uchiha Sasuke. But today, she had lost faster than all the other times. Normally, the matches would last longer, maybe around five minutes. After using up their ammunition, they would resort to melee combat, where Sakura really shined.

The clock didn't even reach a minute when she lost. He didn't even have to use his Sharingan.

Sasuke gave a sigh. She'd work it out of her system soon enough. Reloading his pistols, he put them away in his chest holsters. Making sure that his revolvers were secure in his hip holsters, he leapt over the wall.

"Uchiha-sama," Sasuke turned around to see a messenger, "Hokage-sama would like to see you in her office now. She says that she needs you for a crucial mission." The messenger disappeared soon after. Knowing that the legendary Tsunade was not a person he wanted to cross, he disappeared in a tuft of smoke.

Tsunade was a legendary figure in Konoha's history. One of the three trained by the Sandaime, her physical strength was beyond normal. At one point during a mission, it was common belief that she wielded two rocket launchers with ease, one in each hand. Most shinobis had trouble carrying half the weight of the new lighter versions. Tsunade's medical prowess was amazing as well and she also had the ability to summon slugs. Most shinobi will never live to see an animal summon in their lifetime. Despite her shiny blonde hair and abnormally large breasts as well as other youthful facial features, she was actually getting close to the age of fifty. Most shinobis only reached the age of twenty-five.

Reappearing in the Hokage's office, Sasuke quietly stood, waiting for her instructions. Looking around, he saw Sakura once again, along with the kunoichi with the bolt-action rifle and Hyuuga Neji, twenty-year old prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan and jounin.

The Hyuugas were the most esteemed shinobi clan in Konoha. With the ability to see almost three hundred sixty degrees, through objects, and Tenketsu points, they were a force to be feared. Because they can see Tenketsu points, they have developed a unique style of hand-to-hand combat. Using chakra, they can open and close these points, causing great harm with just a single tap. Their only weapon of choice is their clan-produced pistol. They do not use melee weapons because they have their own specialized taijutsu that is not only used for offense but also defense as well. By simply expelling chakra through their fingers with enough force, they can stop bullets, although their aim must be concise. Facing even just one puts the attacker at great risk.

"I have called you four here for a mission," Tsunade said. She was sitting in a swivel chair and had her back was to them. Sasuke returned his attention to her. "I have received a mission request from Kasa Korporations that one of their facilities in the Sand Territory has been destroyed by unknown forces. They want us to send a team of four to gather information on what could have destroyed it. They suggest that we be careful though, as the place may be swarming with bandits." Tsunade turned around in her chair to face them.

"To be honest, I feel very suspicious about this. Usually, a facility takes extreme safety measures to keep a facility from suddenly becoming destroyed. Therefore, it is highly likely that someone entered and sabotaged it."

"If you've already come up with a reason, why are you still sending us?" Neji asked.

"Kasa is offering a lot of money for the success of this mission. Therefore, I want this job done and I want I done right. So I'm sending you four. You're some of the best for your rank."

"Do we have a choice?" Sasuke asked.

"No. This is an A-plus rank mission. It's crucial and we can also gain some information about the Sand. Rumor has it that they're plotting against us. Don't worry. All four of you will be receiving higher pay than the normal A-rank mission." Tsunade turned around in her chair again, indicating that she was done talking. "You leave in twenty-four hours. Prepare your gear and meet at the east gate. You are dismissed."

The four of them left the room. Neji looked at them. "I'll meet you at the east gate then. Haruno, Uchiha," Neji simply looked at the kunoichi with the bolt-rifle, "you, good day." Neji then headed for the nearest exit. After he left, the remaining three went to the ammunitions room.

As they entered, Sasuke immediately headed to the handguns section. Taking a look at both of his pouches, he found that he had only five clips left for each gun. Grabbing to clips from the wall, he put them in before examining the clips in his pistols. They both could hold one more bullet, so he grabbed to singles and put them in before placing the cartridges back into his pistols.

Next, he headed to the revolvers. He already had enough extras. Looking into the chambers, he grabbed one for each revolver and put them in before closing the chambers and heading to the notes distributor.

He used up a flash note in the spar with Sakura earlier. Pressing a button, he received another and put it into his pouch. Turning around, he saw the nameless kunoichi once again. She wore a brown trench coat that matched her hair, which was collected into two buns. She wore a pink Chinese shirt and black pants (it seemed that a lot of kunoichis wore black pants). Her eyes were a soft brown.

"Excuse me but are you Uchiha Sasuke?" she asked.

"Yeah. Your name?"

"Oh, that's a bit rude of me. My name is Tenten." She quickly looked away. "Do you… Do you meet Neji often?"

"Every now and then…" Sasuke did not like where this was going.

"…Do you think he likes me?"

Sasuke face faulted. He did not need love life problems. He had a big enough one of his own. At least Neji wasn't that much of a living ice cube, although he did address Tenten as 'you'. "Sorry Tenten-san, but I he doesn't confide these things to me."

"Oh…" she began to leave. "I'll meet you at the east gate then."

"Wait," he called out to her. She turned around.

"What rank are you? You're not wearing a vest."

"I'm a chuunin." And then she walked away.

Sasuke sighed. If this mission was so important, why were they only sending two jounins and two chuunins? It would make much more sense if they sent three jounins and one chuunin, or all jounins for the matter. He began to walk home to prepare his supplies.

East Gate, One Day Later 

An hour later, Sasuke was at the east gate, waiting for his teammates. He liked to come early to survey he village and its wildlife. It gave him a reason to come home.

His thoughts flashed pink.

Well, more like one reason.

Neji appeared next to him. "Uchiha."

Sasuke returned the greeting. "Hyuuga."

Looking down the road into Konoha, they spotted Tenten calmly walking to them, acting as if they weren't there. She gently waved her hand at them before joining them at their side.

Now it was just Sakura.

Looking at his surroundings, he searched for her telltale flash of pink hair. Eventually, he caught site of her coldly walking, as if she cared for no one but herself. She walked up to the group.

"Before we start this mission, I want to say something," Sakura said. "I don't trust any of you three. If you act suspicious, I will not hesitate to kill you." She then proceeded to walk out of Konoha via the east gate. Sasuke gave a sigh. She always said that right before a group mission.

Leaving his village behind, he and the two others began to follow after her.

* * *

Oh yeah, I've introduced a new concept called gun seals. Each kind of gun has a different set of seals. For example, handguns and revolvers have one set, but rifles have a completely different one. To use the chidori on one gun requiresa different set of seals for a different gun.

If you can guess what Kasa means, then yay!


	3. Naruto: The Wheel Turns

Heh heh... UPDATE! Sorry for those who I have kept waiting, but I wanted to make this chapter good. However, it is a bit shorter than other updates, somewhere around nine and a half pages. I just couldn't get much done without breaking my chapter limits (how much information will be revealed in a chapter).

RESPONSE TIME!

Zordon: I have taken your request into thought and have found it to be reasonable. Thus, I have changed Naruto and Gaara's age to nineteen. Besides, twenty-one in this fic is pretty old. And I'm glad that you think this story is awesome.

RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin: I like interesting.

Facading: What's your in-game screen name?

Byuu128: Sorry, but Hinata isn't in this chapter. However, I do plan to have her in the next Naruto chapter unless something comes up.

Tank: I guess you don't know Resident Evil all too well. And I didn't think of using blanks, but I did think of a reason to use real bullets: in Naruto, they do not use blunt kunais to train with. It is the same deal here. I guess I did make it sound like her forehead was mutated, but I didn't mean it. Also, Sasuke knows that Sakura's hair is a natural bubble gum pink because of birth records. Yup, birth records...

Kikuchu: That's for me to know and you to read about later!

BlueD: Equilibrium was a kick-ass movie! However, I don't intend to use the gun kata idea. Thinking about it, in a battle or skirmish, it is unwise to simply stand in one place and aim your guns at place where people will most likely be. That would get you killed. I might make it an 'art style,' simply there to look nice at some high class theatre.

Kashimoto: OMG HE'S RIGHT HERE! But he won't be in the next chapter, I think.

Red Star Dragon: What can I say? I have just recently gotten into the Resident Evil series, although I've only played RE 4. It's a great series, with letters littering the place here and there.

Sakurafan808: Not if a gun is pointed at me.

Necroneox3d: I feel that the chapters will be many as well. How many, however, I do not know.

Author's Notes: I have decided to break the Naruto chapters up into three parts: Itachi's memo X#, Naruto's chapter, and Itachi's Report #. I have included this because I feel that Itachi is still a fairly important character, not just some plot device. I will put page breaks between each one. They will be written in afirst-person perspective and will help inform the reader bit by bit, very much like the letters that one finds in the Resident Evil series. However, whether or not any of the characters finding the memos or reports is still to be determined.

Author's Notes #2: Also, I have made a few changes to the previous chapters. Aside from Naruto and Gaara being nineteen, Itachi left Konoha when Sasuke was thirteen, making him nineteen when he fled the village.

I do not own Naruto or Gunz

Onward!

* * *

Itachi's Memo X 

I do not know how this project will end. But right now, I feel like we've just played God. We've managed to create two human beings from scratch, physically capable of doing what normal humans do, ranging from the simple arm movements to sexual reproduction. They even age and can utilize chakra. They don't look ugly, either.

Chances are, there isn't one female that wouldn't fall in love with their faces, although the red-haired one most likely won't return the affection. The blonde however might. He was our passing failure. He possessed emotion, a double-edge sword. One might even say that he feels too much of it.

However, I fear their superhuman capabilities. From only several days of immediate testing when they were pulled out of suspended animation, we were able to select the best two out of the two hundred subjects. And from what I witnessed, I daresay that they are at least jounin level. Their speed and aim is strikingly dangerous. I hope that I won't be put in too much danger with them around.

I do not know how the seals work. Nobody knows, really. We only know the basic fundamentals and algorithms behind it. It locks away their true strength. However, a push of the button will unleash it, as I had seen. After a while, though, they will return to their normal state, most likely unconscious or weak.

We don't know if the button is the only way to trigger the seal. It definitely feels as if it could be set off by something else, since it is directly connected to the chakra system, which is, in turn, connected to the nervous system. Perhaps extreme emotion could set it off. Maybe they will find their own way to trigger it without outside help. Perhaps call it on command and then stow it away without putting themselves in a vulnerable state.

We had autopsies done on the subjects that failed the ambidexterity test and the awakening process to try and find out what went wrong. For the one that did not awake, it turned out that a tube to transfer oxygen to the body was out of its socket. The subject drowned in the fluids. As for the other, it turns out that it did not have the right genes to code for ambidexterity.

I do not like what we are doing here. It feels too dangerous. My uppers have given me the sole button, the trigger to release the seal's power. However, I am not to do so unless I am told to or their lives are in jeopardy. I have been asked to study them and see what they do, so I will be close by at all times. The company will pay all expenses so I don't have to worry about a thing besides my reports.

I wonder how my brother is doing… Would he hate me for abandoning the family when I was sixteen? Does he even suspect that I am alive? I know that he is living alone, although my informants tell me that he has his eyes set on a pink-haired girl.

Would I be able to return to Konoha after leaving it for six years? Would my brother still accept me as family? Would my parents' souls spring back from the dead to haunt me if I went back?

What if they knew about what I did? Would they still love me?

…

Would she still love me?

* * *

Naruto: Chapter 1: The Wheel Turns 

The sand around the area had been turned glass, bouncing the reflection of the hot sun back into the sky. In the center of the glass was a slab of what was a floor.

Two men lied upon it, both on their stomachs, each clutching a sword. One had blonde hair and was dressed in black pants and a black jacket with stripes of orange running down the seams of his sleeves. The other had red hair and wore almost the same as the other, except his jacket was cut at the shoulders, revealing his arms. He also had a white scarf hanging loosely from his neck. They both wore open blue sandals and had hip pouches conveniently attached to a black belt. Slowly, they both lifted their upper bodies up with their arms before staring each other in the eye. They quickly stumbled away from each other before holding their swords at each other's necks.

"Who are you?" they both asked. Each was rigid with tension. Their blades remained at the other's neck before the one with orange stripes slowly lifted his sword.

"I guess I'll go first. My name is…" his face contorted, as if he was searching deep within the recesses of his mind, "Naruto… Uzumaki Naruto. You?"

The redhead removed his weapon from Naruto's neck. "Sa… Sabaku Gaara."

"Nice to meet you," Naruto cheerfully said.

Gaara simply gave a small nod.

"Now that we've gone through the introductions… where the hell are we?" Naruto asked. He looked around to see the burnt glass on the ground, reflecting light into his eyes. He squinted to try and make out something in the distance, but failed miserably. "I can't make out anything with all this light bouncing into my eyes. Only the mountains in the distance."

"Why don't we just pick a direction and go?" Gaara asked.

"It's a desert. If we just pick a direction, we could end up getting lost and dying out here."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"…"

"…"

"Okay." Naruto slowly placed the tip of the sword against the floor. "Whichever way this sword falls, we go in the opposite direction. Sound good?"

"I don't care."

Naruto let the sword fall and it fell to his right. Picking up the sword, he said, "We go this way then," he said, pointing to his left.

And so they went.

And they continued to walk, passing the point where the ground was sand instead of glass.

And they kept going. Until…

"Damn it! We're not getting anywhere like this, Gaara! Face it, we're lost." Naruto gave a sigh. He was thirsty and starting to get a bit tired.

"No, we're not."

"What do you mean? We just woke up about an hour ago in the middle of a desert surrounded by glass!" he yelled, dangerously waving his hands and sword around.

"Let's just keep walking."

"How about no?"

Their squabble continued until a man with raven hair walked up to them. "Excuse me, but you two seem lost."

Naruto turned around and put on a light smile. "Eh heh… yeah, we are. Do you know where we are?"

The man smiled. He wore a black travelers cloak with red clouds on it. On his head he wore what looked like a traditional grass hat. "You're in Sunagakure's territory."

Somehow, the piece of information was familiar to them. "Well, to be honest with you, I don't want to be out here in a desert. So could you point us to where another hidden village is?" Naruto asked.

"I don't think there is anything wrong with this desert," Gaara said.

"Ignore him. I've been with him for not even a day and I already know that this guy is boring," Naruto commented. "He only seems to say a few words at a time."

"Well, if you wish, you could head towards the mountains over there," the man pointed in the direction of the mountains in the distance. "You'll find the Hidden Waterfall Village." The man looked at their swords. "Are you two shinobis?"

"Shinobis?"

"You two are carrying swords. You have to be shinobis."

"Well then," Naruto smiled once again, "I guess we are."

"I see. Of which village?"

"Village?"

"You know, which hidden village are you from? Leaf?"

"Eh…" Naruto sheepishly grinned.

"We are not from a hidden village. I think," Gaara plainly said.

"Well, in any case, you may want some weaponry to keep yourselves safe. The Sand nins might think you're an enemy, and you may have to defend yourself. Here." the man held out two pistols and some clips. "Take these, each clip holds thirteen bullets. I have a feeling you two will need them. The Sand isn't too hospitable to strangers."

"Thanks!" Naruto said and took a pistol and two clips for himself and giving the same to Gaara. "I guess we owe you one."

"Oh, and take some of these," the man offered them some water bottles. "You'll need them in this desert."

Naruto took them and grinned embarrassedly. "I guess we owe you two now."

"Don't worry about it," the man smiled again. And he began to walk away.

"Nice guy," Naruto said before quickly opening a bottle and drinking half of it. He offered the other half to Gaara.

"Whatever," Gaara commented. He took the bottle away and finished it, tossing it away onto the sand.

"Come on, let's head towards the mountains." And they began to walk in the direction they came from, going over the glass.

And they walked.

And walked…

And…

"I'm tired of all this walking!" Naruto sat down in the shade of an outcropping rock. It was almost around evening now. It had begun to get cooler, but it was still fairly hot. The sun hung just above the horizon, casting a painful glare at them. "I say we stay here and rest."

"Sure."

"…"

"…"

"We should have asked the guy for some food."

"Yeah."

A pause.

"So…" Naruto trailed off. From what he could tell, Gaara seemed apathetic to the world around him. He set off to try and know this person a little better. "Do you have any hobbies?"

"No."

"Ah… favorite color?"

"No."

"Okay… what about food?"

"No."

"Any preference in women?"

"No."

"Damn it! What do you like then?"

"I don't know."

Naruto let out a frustrated sigh. How could a person not have a favorite color, a hobby, or even a food? It was so simple. Why, his favorite color was… was… What _was_ his favorite color?

Okay, that didn't work. Then his hobbies were… blank.

And women? What about them? … Void.

Well there had to be some sort of favorite food…

"Face it Gaara, we don't know very much about ourselves, do we? Even I can't answer those questions…"

"…"

"Do you think we have amnesia?"

Gaara simply cast a hard stare at Naruto, telling him to shut up.

Silence. Naruto simply gave off a small sigh. He felt something.

"Do you ever get the feeling that you're being watched?"

"I don't know," Gaara said, intrigued. "What does it feel like?"

"I'm not too sure myself, but it feels like we have company," Naruto said. Standing up on his sore legs, he looked over the rock to see four approaching Sand shinobis. Two carried automatic rifles, another had a shotgun, and the last had a pair of pistols. Gaara stood up on his feet and looked over the rock as well. The oncoming shinobis stopped at the opposite side of the stone.

Naruto waved. "Hi," He said good-naturedly. He carefully held the sword with his other hand, hidden behind the stone. Gaara did the same, minus the wave and greeting. They looked a bit younger than them, their forehead protectors gleaming in the sun.

The head shinobi shook his head gently before opening his mouth. "You two have been caught trespassing on Sand Territory. Therefore, you are under arrest."

Naruto gripped his sword a little tighter. "Oh. Um… Is that it?"

"No. Do you have a sword? In fact, do both of you have a sword?" the leader asked. _'If this works, then I can get some praise and maybe a raise. They don't radiate chakra to detect bullets, so they should be easy pickings for my team and me.'_

"Yeah, we have swords. See?" Naruto raised his sword to show the group. Gaara did likewise.

"Hmm… Could you wave it around in the air a bit in front of my face? Could both of you do that?"

"Sure."

"Whatever."

And the pair waved the sword in front of the leader.

"I feel threatened!" the leader quickly said as he pulled out his pistols and pointed them at Naruto and Gaara. The other three prepared their weapons.

"What did we do?" Naruto asked.

"Put the sword down!" the leader asked. He turned to Gaara who, for a short moment, was a bit shocked at the sudden turn of events. "Put the sword down! Both of you!"

"Hey, we only did what you wanted us to!" Naruto yelled. He could feel anger boiling within him.

"Put down the damn sword, or I will shoot!" the leader yelled. "This is your last warning!"

Naruto waved the sword once more, making the leader feel "threatened." He would have said a few things, but he sensed that something was going to head straight towards him.

The gun fired and Naruto quickly pumped chakra throughout his body and moved out of the way, faster than the eye could see, faster than the bullet could fly.

All the Sand Shinobis stopped moving, amazed at the super human feat. He was able to dodge the bullet at close range without the use of chakra to sense its direction.

Slowly, they felt a rising killer intent in the two 'fugitives'. Naruto took his sword and placed it into a defensive position and pulled out his pistol with his right hand.

"Gaara."

"Yeah?"

"Let's kill these bastards," Naruto seethed.

Gaara prepared himself in the same fashion as Naruto.

"Sure," Gaara said, remaining as expressionless as ever.

"Kill them!" the leader cried out. The shinobis with rifles quickly took aim and shot bullet after bullet at them. Naruto and Gaara moved left and right and backpedaled while blocking any dangerous shots, sending the bullets careening into the sand or the air. The shotgun carrier did his best to get a shot in, but both Naruto and Gaara kept him behind the rock with suppressing fire.

When the riflemen expended their bullets, both leapt back to put some distance between the targets. Circling around their target, they shot at the riflemen. Naruto put a bullet through the heart of one while Gaara disabled the other, shooting him in an arm and leg before putting a bullet through his eye.

Recovering from the shock of seeing his companions fall, the one with the shotgun rose up from behind the stone, took aim and fired again, only to miss horribly, the shots causing the sand to fly into the air. As the two tumbled out of the way, Naruto consequently put a single bullet into his kidney, much like how Gaara killed the other. He died before he hit the ground.

The only one left now was the leader. Pulling out both his pistols, his fear began to take over as he emptied his clips into them, watching in horror as each deflected the shots with ease. _'What are they? They can detect where the bullet will go without expending chakra!'_

Eventually, only clicks came from the pistols. The leader threw them away, pulled out his sword and, in blind fear, put it into a defensive position and began to radiate chakra, closing his eyes as usual. Slowly, Gaara walked up and shot his hand at close range. He immediately dropped his sword and cradled the wound. The redhead then put a shot into each of his knees, forcing him to fall onto his face. _'Monsters…'_

"Gaara, don't play with the guy. Just kill him," Naruto said.

"No. He toyed with us. He will suffer," Gaara replied.

Taking slow aim, Gaara emptied the rest of the clip, each time shooting at a different non-lethal point.

Then, taking his sword, he cut off the man's head.

Naruto walked up and cringed at the site. "Did you have to kill him like that?"

"Wouldn't you have done the same?" Gaara answered.

Naruto could not answer Gaara's question. Walking away, he said, "Come on, let's see what we can pick up from these guys. They might have some rations on them."

Slowly, they sifted around the bodies and compiled the goods. The rifles only had two full clips left. Nonchalantly, they reloaded them and carried the extra clip in their hip pouch. They slung the rifle over their shoulder to keep their hands free. They removed the empty shell from the shotgun and put in a new one before gathering the rest of the shells and setting it down for later. The leader's pistols were the same as theirs, so they each took one and split the ammunition in half. The reloaded it and put it away in their pockets (Sure, it was dangerous to put it in one's pocket, but did they have a choice?). They found some rations and water and quickly downed it, saving some of it for later. The weapons were a bit bloody, but that was tolerable.

And then there was the shotgun.

"I killed him, so I should have it," Naruto said.

"I killed the leader, so hand it over," Gaara countered.

"Okay, since we don't want to give it up, I say we play a little game. Jan Ken Po?"

"Fine."

"…"

"…"

"Damn it!" Naruto cried as he lost. Gaara calmly leaned down and picked up the shotgun and its shells, stowing the ammunition away in his pouch.

Next, they compared swords. To be honest, their swords looked a bit worn out, as if it had been used before. So, they each left their old sword and picked a new one off of the dead bodies. Taking the sheaths as well, they placed the blades away and tied it to their belt.

"Well, I guess that's all we can get from these guys. Let's get out of here. I don't think we should stay long," Naruto said.

"Whatever," Gaara said.

The pair continued their trek towards the Hidden Waterfall Village as the sun began to set, fleeing from the scene of the attack.

'_Damnit,'_ thought Naruto, _'we haven't even been awake for a day and we've already gotten into trouble.'_

Something told him that they were both going to get into a lot more.

* * *

Report One: 

So far, our subjects are fully operational. They were able to engage in conversation, albeit short. Also, they could reason and use logic to an extent.

Their combat abilities are superb. Their speed is unheard of and their aim comes naturally, as if they had worked with guns their entire lives. Also, their defensive skills are outstanding. As for the seals, we know nothing new yet. Only what we have known and used for the experiments.

However, they seem to lack wits, seeing as they had fallen for a simple trick. Perhaps we should start programming that into the next set of subjects.

They still have much potential to discover. I will continue updating you on their progress. Naruto and Gaara are currently heading toward the Hidden Waterfall Village, as per plan.

I have just finished phase two, having put up a mission to have the both of them killed in all of the hidden villages. The pair should be strong enough to defeat and kill any who come between them and the Waterfall Village. Since the village is not as powerful as the others, it is more likely that they will want to capture these slowly rising 'criminals'. Chances are, they will be marked as C-class missing nins. When they start killing more, they will rise in rank and priority.

If all goes well, we can continue with phase three of the plan.

Uchiha Itachi

* * *

I tried to make this chapter a bit humorous, seeing as how there was so little that I could allow into this chapter and I simply had to compensate for it. Don't want to give away too much. 


	4. Sasuke: 2: Swords, Panties, and Bodies

Whew. Didn't mean to get this chapter up so late, but I had some trouble with a few parts. Thanks for your reviews; they're always nice to read.

GirlWaterShaman: Although I'm surethis will result in a NejiTen pairing, I really don't know about the InoShikaTema thing. Depends on how I write. I don't even know if Shikamaru and his ladies will appear much in this fic.

Zordon: Not Sasuke and his team but... just read.

Tank: Jan Ken Pon, eh? I'll keep that in mind.

Kikuchou: There will be an OC (and possibly more, but mostly just for the continuation of the plot) for Itachi. I also plan to just have an Itachi-focused chapter, seeing as how it may be necessary to help the readers understand what's going ona bit more.

Sephynarutocloud: Eh... I intend to write about the seals in the next chapter, so you'll just have to wait until then.

Timeshifter: I'll probably borrow some ideas from famous movies, like "The Matrix" and "Equilibrium", mostly because it has some awesome gunslinging action.

naruto-fanfic: Seals as in... you'll find out next chapter, which will now be in a while.

Monaki-cheung: Nice to know that you like it.

A few notes: This chapter seems to have a bit more humorous talk (at least for the readers). Also, after some very short thoughts, I've decided to make RLnaruhina my official beta. I've been sending pieces of my fic to him for proofreading, but never the whole thing until now. So congrats to you, RL, you've 'wormed' your way into becoming my beta, as stated in your profile (heh... RL equals rocket launcher).

Another note: After some careful thought, I've decided that, after this chapter, I will put this fic on hold. The main reason why is because although I have the main plotline done,I still have to add some finishing touches. Also, "The Uchiha Crest" feels a lot easier to work with, since I already have things planned out for it. Plus, I think people really want to know what's going onwith Naruto in there. Every so often, I will post up a new chapter for this fic just to keep people from thinking this is dead, so don't give up hope on it just yet.

One more thing: I will not, I repeat, I will not be making a sequal to "Encyclopedia Ninja."Thank you foryour reviews and encouragement, but the story is over.Sure, I may make some mini chapters to it that fixes some of the plot holes, but that will be it. The main reason why is because I cannot think of a storyline for it, nor do I want to. So unless you can think up a storyline and feel fine giving it to me, "Encyclopedia Ninja" is finished.

I do not own Naruto or Gunz: The Duel.

Onward!

* * *

Sasuke: Chapter 2:Swords, Panties, and Bodies 

**_A Little Later That Day…_**

She looked at the folder containing the information on the weapon.

It was quite an ingenious idea. She smiled and thought about trying out the weapon herself, but she decided to continue with her job.

However, the person that the Department of Weapons Development wanted to test the product was Uchiha Sasuke, who was away on a mission.

"Why Uchiha Sasuke?" Tsunade asked. "Is there something that makes him the best candidate?"

"Well," a representative began, "we've done some tests in a controlled environment. However, we want battle data from outside use. And since he's currently on a mission that could cause him to be attacked by shinobi, it would be ideal to give it to him. Plus, he has a higher chance of surviving and preventing other villages from stealing our idea.

"Besides, we have already put on a seal that will only release when he gets the package. So in truth, we had to."

"Very well," Tsunade said, "I will have someone send the weapon to him. But it won't reach him until he, at best, is only a day away from the Sand Village; they left yesterday."

"That's fine," he said, "Oh, and if it's not too much hassle, tell him to write up his opinion and send it to us via summon. He should know what to do." With that, the representative left the office.

Tsunade thought for a moment. _'Perhaps I should have the messenger help Sasuke on the mission as well…'_

Tsunade later got rid of the idea. _'The Sand wouldn't like it.'_

She began to write up a mission for Yakushi Kabuto.

* * *

Three days had passed since they had left Konoha for Suna. 

They hadn't seen any action.

That was a good thing.

Walking through the fields, they were almost at the Sand Village. At the end of the day they would be at the border, where an escort would be waiting to take them into the town. Afterwards, they would be taken to an inn and given a nice room. Then they would begin the investigation. The mission wouldn't require stealth, so there was no need to avoid the guards.

The room sounded very appealing, since the group of four had to cover the distance in four days. They were beginning to smell of stale sweat, which was aptly disgusting, though none complained.

If they were to be a shinobi, they had to overcome the dirty parts of being a shinobi as well.

Besides, they were seasoned veterans, albeit single ones.

Perhaps this was a ploy to get them together?

Sasuke struck the thought from his head. _'Maybe for those two, but definitely not for Sakura and me.'_

She still distanced herself from the group. She thwarted his goal of talking to her when she took up night watch immediately after they set up camp and eaten on the first night. The other two nights she immediately left for her sleeping bag and slept, effectively cutting off any chance for socializing.

Sasuke sighed.

It was midday and the grass would begin to thin out any moment now.

And then he arrived.

At first, the group felt his chakra signature approach them. They entered a defensive stance. Neji took out his Hyuuga Pistol and activated his Byakuugan, Tenten retreated to a lonesome leafy tree so she could easily cover the group, Sakura knelt down and prepared her rifle, and Sasuke placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. A good defense was going to be difficult in this grassy area; there weren't many hiding spots and the grass was too low to hide in.

"It's okay," Neji said, lowering his gun and deactivating his eyes. "It's just Yakushi-san."

"_Just_ me?" Kabuto said, approaching the group at a fast pace. He slowed down when he reached them. "I'm insulted," He said with a slight smile. He had a shotgun slung over his shoulder and a revolver in a hip holster.

"What is that on your back? I can't see through the box," Neji said, almost offended that his Byakuugan couldn't see through it.

"Sorry, Hyuuga-san, but this parcel can only be opened by Uchiha Sasuke. Even I don't know what's in it," Kabuto said. "It was a high priority rush delivery. Which could only mean one thing: confidential."

"Yakushi-san, have you been demoted to mail delivery then?" Tenten said, lightly joking. Kabuto gave a defeated smile.

"I truly hope not, Tenten. I believe they chose me because I was the fastest available," he answered. Walking over, he handed the box to Sasuke. "For you."

"Oh. Thank you," Sasuke said and took the box.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" Tenten said, curiosity brimming in her eyes.

"Yes, open it. We would be suspicious if we walked into Suna with a closed box," Neji said. Sasuke thought that he sounded a bit too eager to see what was in the box. Then again, it had insulted his bloodline ability. He probably would be mad as well, albeit not at a box.

Sakura seemed slightly interested though, so he opened it. Biting his thumb, he spread some blood across the seal and it slowly disappeared. Opening the top of the box, he looked inside.

There was a sword in its sheath plus several pistol clips (Sasuke recognized from the manufacturing number that they would work for his pistols as well), a leather strap, and an instruction booklet.

"It's just a sword…" Tenten trailed off. Sasuke picked up the manual and opened it. A letter fell out. He grabbed it off of the ground and read it.

"To Uchiha Sasuke," it read, "You have been specifically chosen to field test this product. It is highly experimental and it is imperative that you do not let it fall into enemy hands. If this product does prove useful, then write back to us via summon. If not, then destroy it; bringing back a useless product would only be a burden. And most importantly, have fun with your new toy.

"PS: Hold on to your normal sword just in case."

Sasuke gave a small hmph before putting the letter aside and opened the manual and read it.

… '_Uh huh…'_

… '_Hm…'_

Putting the book aside, he took the sword out of the sheath. If what he read was true, then the sword was definitely worth trying out. Feeling around the hilt, he found what he was looking for. Now that he thought of it, the hilt did look a little larger than normal. He looked toward the tree that Tenten had hid in.

Raising his sword, he pushed the button.

_Bang_

A bullet was now lodged into the tree trunk. At the same time, a piece of the side of the hilt opened and expelled the empty bullet case.

Silence.

"Wow," Tenten said, bringing them back to the world.

"Well, I better go back. The Hokage might want me to deliver another package," and Kabuto turned around and vanished with his high speed.

"We need to dispose of the evidence," Neji stoically said. Sasuke nodded. Taking the box, manual, and letter, he threw them up into the air before he drew out his pistol. Doing some quick gun seals, he pointed the gun upwards.

"Katon: Ensho!" He pulled the trigger and a small stream of fire erupted, consuming the papers until there was nothing left.

"Come on Uchiha, we've spent too much time here. We need to get going," Sakura said to him coldly. He sighed.

She had known him long enough to bother asking to spar with him. He called her by her first name, couldn't she call him by his? Fixing the sword to the leather strap, he slung it onto his back and ran to catch up with the rest of the group, which had begun to leave him behind. When he finally caught up to them, he realized that he was standing on sand.

"Don't leave me behind," Sasuke said, annoyed.

"Then don't be so slow," Sakura shot back.

"Stop it, you two. You're making a bad impression," Neji said, the veins around his bulging and pushing chakra to his Byakuugan. He came to a halt and signaled for the rest of the group to stop. He deactivated his bloodline limit. "You can come out now. I know you're there."

Suddenly, three human figures unearthed themselves from the sand. As it fell off of their bodies, they revealed three Sand shinobis carrying rifles. "Like every good Hyuuga would," the man on the right said.

"Are you the investigation team?"

"Yes," Sasuke answered.

"We will need your papers then," he said. Neji fished around in one of his pockets before drawing out a passport. The rest did likewise. Both guards took quick look at the paper and the person before handing them back.

"Well, everything appears to be in order. You will be escorted by Temari to an inn and you can begin your investigation tomorrow." Two of the three guards changed back into sand and fell formlessly to the ground, leaving the woman they guessed was Temari behind.

"Tch, leaving me with the escort duty. How very much like them. Well, come on. I don't have all day to dawdle around, and neither do you." She quickly turned around and led the group to the inn.

_**Later that night**_

Sasuke stepped out of the shower, feeling clean and refreshed. It always felt good after a shower, to be washed clean from the sin of killing as a shinobi. Sure, he didn't kill anyone today, but it felt good anyway, so who was he to complain?

It was ten till nine in the evening. After having eaten the meal (provided graciously by the innkeeper) together in complete silence, they headed upstairs to their rooms. Tenten and Sakura shared one while Sasuke and Neji shared another.

He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. Neji sat on the other side, facing away from him, calmly partaking in his little-known hobby of reading. Sasuke began his own hobby. He stared at the wall that separated him and Sakura.

"Thinking about Haruno again?" Neji asked, drawing Sasuke away from his activity.

Sasuke gave an unintelligible "Whuh?" and turned around.

Neji turned around to face him. "That's all you think about, Uchiha. You think I couldn't see it? Every time we were on the move, you watched her. At meals, you tried to talk to her. Every other moment you're daydreaming about her. Do you know how much danger this could put us in?"

"Yeah…" Sasuke guiltily said, a tiny blush on his cheeks.

"You are jeopardizing our success here."

"It's not something I can help, you know! There's no off switch for this kind of thing!" Sasuke yelled back.

"What makes you so interested in her that you can barely focus on the task at hand? If you can't focus on the battlefield, then your doomed to your fate."

"It's just that…" Sasuke trailed off. "Never mind, you wouldn't understand."

"Try me. I'll tell you why I wear the medical tape around my head."

"No, really, it's not worth my time. And I already know what's beneaththe tape, although there is one person I know who would like to know why."

"…"

"…"

Neji turned around to read his book once again. "You know, I respect you for what you're trying to do."

Sasuke was caught off guard once again. "What?"

"You're trying to alter your… possible love life's fate."

"What does fate have to do with this?"

"But you're fighting a losing battle. My suggestion is to start trying to date someone else."

"Why should I listen to you?" Sasuke retorted. "You don't even try to pursue a love."

"My life is no concern of yours."

"Then don't worry about mine."

It was now about one to nine.

"Say," Neji started, "we still have to figure out who gets the bed."

"Any suggestions?" Sasuke asked.

Neji smirked, "We draw," he said, placing the book on the nightstand next to the bed.

Both men stood up and faced each other. "Standard rules," Sasuke said.

"No interfering with each other."

"From the hip."

"At the chime."

And… silence.

Ten

Nine

Eight

Seven

Six

Five

Four

Three

"I know what color Sakura's panties are."

"Huh?"

The second hand struck twelve. It was now nine p.m.

"I win," Neji said, having drawn his pistol during the brief moment Sasuke was caught off guard. "I get the bed." He sat down and pulled the covers over himself.

Sasuke crossed his arms. "You cheated."

"The enemy will lie and cheat his way to victory, and that gives us all the more reason to do the same. Let this be a lesson to you," Neji calmly said. "Here's a pillow, catch," And with great speed, he threw it squarely at Sasuke's face. Sasuke moved aside, barely dodging it. "You can barely dodge a pillow. Makes me wonder if you can dodge bullets, Uchiha."

"Is that a challenge?" one of Sasuke's eyebrows went up.

"No, just an insult," Neji smirked. "Good night, Uchiha."

"Tch. Asshole." Walking over, Sasuke rummaged through his bag and pulled out his sleeping bag. Unfurling it, he walked over to the wall and turned off the lights. Grabbing the pillow, he laid in his sleeping bag, put his pistol beneath the cushion, and closed his eyes.

"In case you do want to know, her panties are white."

"… You're lying."

"Maybe I am, Uchiha. Maybe I am."

Sasuke simply grumbled a bit before turning over, doing his best to not think of Sakura in white panties.

"You know, if you do tell me why you chase after Haruno so much, I'll toss you a blanket."

"How do I know you didn't put an exploding tag in it?"

"Because I'm not your enemy."

"You sure acted like one on the draw."

"Would an enemy even offer you a blanket in the first place?"

"…"

"Or if you don't want a blanket, I could provide some… information on Haruno."

"…What kind?"

"Everything that wouldn't label me as a stalker or pervert."

"… No deal." And Sasuke turned over to sleep.

* * *

It was midday when the group reached the investigation site. The sun had begun to bear down on them and Sasuke was rather glad that he wore light-colored clothing. He looked over to see that Tenten had removed her brown trench coat, revealing her pink shirt. Perhaps she was out to get Neji's attention? He looked over to the said Hyuuga. He wore a light top with dark pants. 

His attention hovered toward Sakura. And he wondered.

If he got lucky, she might take off her vest.

If he got really lucky, he might actually know if Neji was lying or not about her panties last night.

But, of course, he was rather unlucky today.

When they arrived at the scene, it was just black scorched glass. They were able to faintly make out footprints, so they followed it. And then they realized that the person who made them stopped for a while, and then turned around and headed back towards the site.

And when the passed the site and headed in the direction away from where they came from, they found some stones and four bodies. The sun had baked them and they were a bit discolored. The sand around them had bits of brown, indicating that blood had been spilled. However, two methods of killing prevailed when the inspected the bodies.

"There must have been another person involved in their deaths," Sakura said.

"Really?" Tenten asked.

"Look at how they were killed," Neji began, "two of them had a quick death while the others seemed to have suffered before being killed. Especially the squad leader…"

"So… we could be dealing with a sane person and a psychopath?" Sasuke concluded.

"Very possible," Neji answered.

"Only one question though."

"How did the two people suddenly appear in the middle of the explosion?" Tenten finished. "Tracks like these could have been covered if we arrived a day later."

None of this made much sense to Sasuke. If they ever did find out what was happening, then the most they could do was send a report to the Hokage who would then send another team to track down these two killers.

And then he felt something.

"You feel them too?" Neji said quietly as he walked over to him.

"Yeah. Can you see any of them?"

"There are five. Two of them have rifles, two have shotguns, and the squad leader has a machine gun. They're beneath the sand."

"I say we head back to the site and surprise them."

"Agreed." Neji left and told the other two that they were going back to the explosion site. It was late at night and the sun was beginning to go down. Fighting would become difficult if it got too late. They headed back to where the facility was. On their way back, Neji had quietly informed the other two and he had begun to work out a plan.

When they finally reached the place, they had slowly spread and were now placed above each one. They milled about for a while when Neji walked over to him. "Uchiha, we want the leader alive for interrogation. So instead of shooting the one beneath you, you'll grab the leader, who will be on your left and I'll kill the one beneath you." Sasuke nodded. Neji walked back over to his spot as Sasuke quickly prepared some hand seals.

Neji drew out both of his Hyuuga pistols before saying "Now!"

Sakura sent down a hail of bullets.

Tenten let a shot echo from her rifle.

Neji fired two pinpoint rounds.

Sasuke slammed his hands into the sand. "Ninpou: Sabaku Hojiki!" Lifting them up, he now had the leader trapped in a tiny cage of sand. Neji ran over and yanked the machine gun out of his hands.

"Who are you, and why are you following us?" Sakura said as she walked over.

"Tch. Damn thieves, I'm not telling a single thing!" he said to the group.

"Hm. A stone nin. Tell me, what makes your group interested in a place like this?" Neji coolly said.

"Our mission is none of your concern!"

"You put our lives in danger, mister," Tenten seethed. She wasn't going to let Neji get hurt anytime soon. "I think it concerns us."

"You have ten seconds to start talking or I will make a new hole for you to breathe through," Neji responded.

The man scowled. "You think your so tough, impersonating honorable shinobis? Hah! You thieves make me sick." He spat at Neji's face.

Tenten wasted no time in aiming her rifle and pulling the trigger. By the time Neji recovered from the shock, the man was dead. "Ass," she said, showing no remorse for the man. She turned to Neji and asked, "You okay there?" with a faint blush.

"I'm fine," he responded, not noticing her blush. "Let's go back. It's getting late and the Hokage will definitely want a report on this. Besides, we still have to take a look into the village itself to make sure they're not planning anything."

"But how will we base a mission to find those other two when we don't even know what they look like?" Sasuke said out loud.

"You mean… these two?" a voice from behind said. The group of four turned around to face another woman. She was a civilian in her mid thirties and had two pictures with her. One of a blonde with blue eyes and the other was a redhead with pale green eyes. "I remember seeing them heading in the direction of the Waterfall Village. Here," she handed them the pictures. "I think you'll need these." She noticed the dead man on the ground. "Um… what happened here?"

"Oh, thank you! And don't worry Miss, he was just an ass of a thief." Tenten cheerfully said. Neji took a glance at her before looking over the pictures.

"I'm not sure if that's who you're looking for, but I couldn't help but overhear the conversation. And since I noticed that these footprints were towards the Waterfall Village, I kind of put two and two together."

"Well, thank you, I suppose. How did you find us though?" Neji bowed a bit to the lady.

"I heard some gun shots and I was coming back from a trip, so I came here."

"Ah, well thank you once again. We really must be going now though, so if you'd excuse us," Neji bowed once again. The group turned to head back to the Sand. They had a report to send.

The lady smiled before disappearing into the ground.

* * *

_**One day later**_

"Yakuri Shinta, you are to take your squad and capture these two men alive. We don't know their names, but I have pictures sent from Hyuuga Neji. Apparently, they were responsible for several deaths."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Shinta looked over the pictures. One was a blonde with blue hair. The other had red hair with a light green for eyes.

"I want you to be careful though. We don't know how dangerous they are. From what I've heard they've managed to kill chuunin level ninjas. From the field reports, one may be a deranged psychopath," Tsunade warned him. "Personally, my money is on the blonde one being crazy, but that's just me."

"We will be careful." Shinta bowed and left the room.

He was part of an elite chuunin force, somewhat akin to the ANBU, but lacking power. The village looked forward to him becoming a jounin. Their main job was to take jobs that were too high for regular chuunin but not dangerous enough that it would require jounins.

He was a little short for the age of sixteen. But he was expected to grow. His hair was an icy blue and his eyes were a calm brown. He had his rifle slung over his shoulder, like most chuunins. His chuunin vest had a small badge on the shoulder, indicating his position. He wore all black.

Walking into the headquarters, he looked around and spotted one of his squad members. "Hinata."

The addressed girl looked up. She was a Hyuuga; her eyes gave that fact away. Plus, she didn't cover up her forehead, meaning that she was a member of the main house. "Yes, Shinta-san?" she quietly replied.

"We've got a mission to do."

* * *

Ensho means either Fire Stream or Fire Wave; I'm too lazy to check up on it. 

Hojiki roughly means cage.

For those waiting for "The Uchiha Crest", I've done some of the chapter already, so hopefully it won't take as long as this chapter.

PS: Originally, this chapter's title was Experimentation Interrogation Investigation, but then that was too long, so me and RLnaruhina managed to shorten it.

PPS: I'm looking for a NejiTen C2. Anyone know a good one? Thanks.


	5. Naruto: 2: Pieces of the Puzzle

I just want to thank you guys for being patient with me. While my main focus will be on Uchiha Crest, I don't want this fic to appear dead either. I would like to thank my friend SolarisAstrum for being my beta while my normal one was unavailable.

Reviews!

RLNaruHina: Where have you gone? I need ur beta skills!

Tank: What can I say? I've made the SasuSaku pairing into something different. Of course it's going to be fun. As for the gunblade... well... it will be dealt with.

GirlWaterShaman: Although I doubt that I will actually fix the holes, I may make some oneshots off of its timeline. As for your two questions... 1) Possibly (limes will most likely be in here so you can enjoy those) and 2) Most likely.

Zordon: Hinata probably won't change very much, so you can be happy about that. She'll probably undergo some change, but not a big change.

SephyNarutoCloud: I've never been into Rurouni Kenshin so if there is any resemblance, it's coincidence.

Decapitated Marshmallow: (Get's paw'd) ...Ow?

To Satan: LOL AT U. I laugh at people who feel that they have to resort to using the name of Satan as a weapon.

Notes: After this I will probably do a system where I do several chapters for Uchiha Crest and then one for Product Shinobi. Unless you happen to think it should be the other way around. We'll see.

I do not own Naruto or Gunz: The Duel

Onward!

* * *

Report Two: 

Phase three has finished. As predicted, their seals gave them an irrational boost of power and chakra as well as healing any wounds. They were both in a stable condition during the seal's activation. However, Naruto seemed to hold more destructive power than Gaara, most likely because of his emotions. During their attacks they seemed to have some sort of conscious control; they kept to their forms and retained their aim, although they were thrown into almost a wild frenzy, aiming only to kill their targets. Neither of them showed any use of jutsus during the seals' activation time nor did they demonstrate any communication skills besides body language.

Naruto, however, seemed to be a bit out of character. From what I've gathered so far, he would normally kill his targets with one bullet. But during the time his seal was activated he purposely inflicted more pain than he normally would, as if he was extracting revenge. Perhaps they also have access to memories during their transformed state. Whether they retain it after leaving their state is unknown at the moment.

When they had defeated their enemies I deactivated their seals. Almost immediately they showed signs of fatigue and sought shelter beneath a tree, falling asleep as soon as they lied down. I stood watch over their bodies to protect them from harm. I was lucky in the fact that they ran out of the village they were in to engage the group in a safer spot. Although not sure, I feel that I can safely say that no one knows about these two's power.

Phase four has already begun. Many within our network have taken on Naruto and Gaara's forms pretending to be Leaf shinobis. As requested they've begun killing shinobis from other hidden villages. I've ordered them to say that they're heading to the Hidden Waterfall Village. This should attract more attention to these two to gain worldwide recognition as Missing Nins. Once their true power is displayed and their manufacturer revealed, you can expect the villages to want this power for themselves.

Sir, if all things go well, the world will be tossed into chaos and continual fighting will be the way of life.

Uchiha Itachi

* * *

Naruto: Chapter 2: Pieces of the Puzzle 

Gaara and Naruto walked in silence next to each other. Pain and confusion ran rampant in throughout their body as they slowly traveled to the Waterfall Village.

With each step, they thought of how horrible it was to see bodies viciously laid around them. Each corpse was killed ruthlessly; no mercy was given. No doubt for the dying. Just death all around them, its smell wafting up into their nostrils.

What hurt them most was that they didn't know how it had happened. But they knew that they had killed them, for dried blood was on their clothes. Scared beyond reason, they both ran on their path to the Waterfall Village until they couldn't run anymore. The image of mangled bodies lay imbedded in their minds.

They wouldn't be held responsible for their deaths. No one would ever find them, the merciless killers of twelve ANBU members.

It had been two days since they woke up with dead men in front of them. Having reduced their fleeing run to a walking exodus, they had become cautious almost to the point of paranoia. When they looked at each other, they could not help but become a bit suspicious. The way they looked, walked, talked, all were pieces of evidence for accusation. Although they had gotten over their apparent fear of each other, there was always an air of distrust between them.

They had taken a break underneath a tree, eating some food they had taken with them. Naruto sighed. The wall between them was disheartening. Sure, there was good reason. But it was affecting them too much. They barely talked to each other anymore.

He decided to step out and talk. "Oi, Gaara."

"Hm?"

"About this… killing thing. Neither of us know how it happened, right?"

"Yeah."

"We should just forget about it. It's obvious that it's put up a barrier between us. For the past two days we've barely talked."

"So?"

"I'm sick of it!" Naruto threw his hands into the air. "It just pisses me off to no extent! How can we keep ourselves apart when we have no true reason to blame each other? There's no evidence that either of us killed them besides blood on our clothes. For all we know, some sick bastard could have killed them and then took their blood and wiped it on us!"

"True…"

"It's just complete bullshit."

"Perhaps, but let me ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"When you sleep, do you have dreams?"

"Yeah."

"What do you see?"

"…"

"Tell me."

"…I see dead people in front of me. People that I've never seen before."

"Anything else?"

"Sometimes I see people in white coats. I would look down, and see tubes going in and out of me." Naruto looked at Gaara's green eyes. "What about you? What do you see in your dreams?"

"I see the same thing you do."

"Really?"

"Yes. We come from a bloody past. These dreams are not normal. _We're_ not normal. Something happened to us. I don't know what, but something made us into who we are now."

"…"

"Last night, did you dream about the twelve men with masks that we probably killed?"

"Yes."

"What did you see?"

"I saw that I killed them. I had bloody swords and empty guns in my hands."

"Same here. There is no doubt about this. We killed them in cold blood. And not like the others we've killed. Normally you'd disable and then kill them, allowing little pain. But this time, we both different," Gaara said in his emotionless voice.

"We?"

"I saw you in my dreams. You did not kill like you would normally kill now."

"… Doesn't this bother you? I mean, we just killed them without a second thought."

"No."

"Why not?" Naruto asked.

"They were going to kill us, allowing no mercy. They would have done the same to us if we had not killed them first."

"…"

"The thoughts going through your head about how we killed them show your refusal to accept that we were born to fight. Like it or not, I believe we will fight until we die."

"Well I don't like it! We came into this world for reasons other than that! I know it… This can't be how we will be remembered. I won't accept it. There has to be something else out there."

"You are only deluding yourself," Gaara raised his voice a bit.

"Perhaps, but I'm not giving up on myself."

Silence.

Naruto took in a breath. "We should continue on our path," he said. "There's no telling when or where we'll encounter more people." Gaara nodded as they both stood up from beneath the tree and continued walking.

They kept the wrappers in their pockets. They couldn't afford to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to where they intend to go. All pieces of trash were picked up and discarded at the next available trash receptacle.

They didn't exist. They were to remain hidden as long as possible. Something told them that if they were discovered things would get ugly. The only thing they couldn't hide was their footsteps.

"Gaara, do you happen to remember anything before we… blanked out during the fight with the masked men?"

A bush rustled.

"Not very. All I know was that we weren't doing so well. Although…" Gaara looked at his arms. "I would like to know how all our wounds healed."

"Maybe the person who saved us took the time to tend to us?" Naruto guessed.

"I doubt it."

A branch creaked.

"It sure is weird… You'd think that there would at least be scars. Like the ones on my face," he pointed to his whisker-like marks. "I have no clue how they got there, but it's there."

"For as long as I have known you, you've always had them."

"Do you have any scars?" Naruto asked.

"I don't think so…"

A leaf fell.

"You feel them?" Naruto whispered.

"Yeah. Four of them," Gaara whispered back.

"They've surrounded us."

"I know. One of them sounds significantly lighter than the others. Probably carrying light equipment."

"Do we make the first move, or should they?"

"Let them. We'll see what they're capable of and react accordingly. If I'm right, they only just started following us. Let's pretend to take a break." Nodding, Naruto and Gaara both sat down at the base of a tall oak tree and leaned back.

"Look," Naruto began, "I'm going to take a nap. I don't know why, but I'm rather tired for some reason."

"Sounds like a good idea."

Naruto yawned and closed his eyes. "Well, I'll probably wake up in an hour or so. See you then."

"Sure."

"Do we kill them?"

"Yes."

* * *

They had been trailing their targets for a while. Staying out of detection range, they had done their best to hide their chakra signatures as much as possible. Shinta the group leader looked at Hinata. Once again she was tapping her fingers. It was her telltale sign of nervousness. He sighed and said, "Hinata, you're going to be fine." 

Jumping a little, she looked over and bit her lip. "I-I'm sorry, Shinta-san." She wore a dark baggy sweater to hide her figure. At her hip was the Hyuuga pistol, the only weapon Hyuugas were said to need. With a hip pouch filled with bullets and tags, she wore loose black pants along with open sandals, standard issue.

"Hinata, you've got nothing to be afraid of," one of her teammates replied. "You're a Hyuuga, a feared member of Konoha."

Hinata looked down, "No one's afraid of failures like me…"

"Look, you've got to stop being so negative. If you don't lighten up, you'll never improve," the fourth teammate said.

Sometimes, Shinta wished that she would just for once be able to look at the bright side of things during a mission. At home she wasn't negative but on the field her personality fell, reducing her to a shadow of herself. Not only did it make a mission that much more unbearable, it reduced her ability during combat.

"Hinata, right now we need you," Shinta said. "You can do things we can't. Now, I want you to tell me everything you can about those two with your Byakuugan."

She slowly nodded. "Byakuugan…" she calmly said.

"… Do you see anything?" one of her teammates asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary yet. They appear to be walking."

"Good. You two," Shinta turned to his teammates, "surround them but stay within visual range. When I signal, shoot them with tranquilizer shots. Hinata, stay with me." Nodding, the other members moved while Hinata remained on the look out.

"They appear to be taking a break now. They're resting under that o-oak tree," she placidly said.

"Can you hear what they're saying?"

"No, they're too far away," she responded.

"…"

"T-They've gone to sleep."

"It looks like they haven't detected us yet."

"Should we act now?"

"Now would be perfect." With a drop of his arm, he and Hinata watched as his teammates shot tranquilizers at the pair.

With a quick movement both of their targets grasped the shot fired at them and turned to look at both of their team members' hiding spots.

"Shit, we acted too early!" Shinta yelled, taking his rifle. "We'll have to subdue them the hard way. Get ready, Hinata!" In a hurry Hinata pulled her pistol out as they both rushed towards their targets. The one with red hair approached them.

They heard two gunshots a second between each other from the blonde followed by silence.

It was harrowing. There was no return fire. No response from either team member. Looking aside with her Byakuugan, Hinata noted that there were two fresh puddles of blood. She gulped and continued running. As she approached, Hinata's eyes widened and she came to a stop. Fear gripped her and she dropped her gun with a clatter.

Shinta looked over to her. "What's wrong?"

"T-Their bod-dies…"

"You can see them from here? Are they alright?" Shinta obviously thought she was talking about their teammates.

"They're…" she paused, "They're dead."

"Already? How?"

"One shot to the back of the head, each of them. T-They seem to have been shot from close range…"

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know…"

Shinta cursed. "What about the targets? Can you see them?" Hinata nodded. "What can you tell me about them?"

She focused on them and gasped. Stopping herself to a halt, her eyes widened with fear. "T-They don't have chakra coils…" She backed away before tripping and falling down.

"What?"

"They don't have Tenketsu points… I-I'm useless in this situation."

"Hinata! Don't think like that!" Shinta turned around to face Hinata. "Now is not the time to think that you're useless!" He began to run to her, but was forced to dodge a bullet. "Damn it!" Facing the one with red hair, he opened fire with his rifle.

"Who are you, and why are following us?" Gaara said as he blocked and dodged the bullets. Hinata watched in awe as Gaara literally danced around, evading bullets.

'_They're not using chakra…'_ she stopped moving, captivated by them. _'What are they? They have the ability of ninjas, yet do not use chakra…'_

"You two are under arrest for the murder of four Sand chuunins. Come with us and we'll show you mercy," Shinta yelled.

"Where do you come from? Your headband looks like a leaf," Gaara slowly approached Shinta.

"You don't know what village I'm from? Ha! To think that you are a real shinobi, you're just acting like one."

"A shinobi… is that what we are?" Gaara asked.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Shinta yelled. "Any shinobi can dodge and block bullets! It's the first thing taught at any academy!" He readied his rifle again. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you're coming back with us, whether you like it or not!"

He felt cold metal against his head.

"Dodge this first." Without pause Naruto pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into his head. It was an instant death.

"Did you take care of the other two?" Gaara asked, putting his sword away.

"They were too easy," Naruto replied. He put his gun into his holster. "You can't run away when you're slow," he taunted. Turning around, he looked over at Hinata. "And who do we have here?" he walked over and looked at her face. Slowly, her face began to burn red and she shyly looked away.

She cursed her timidity. _'I can't show weakness here… It's not how my clan acts…'_

"Shy, are we?" Naruto said. Taking his hand, he gently lifted her chin up and he looked at her face closely. Hinata began to blush harder, surprised by such contact. Obviously he wasn't versed in common politeness. "Your eyes… the way you acted when we were fighting… it was different."

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"We should kill her now," Gaara said.

"Well I don't want to right now."

Hinata gulped before timidly speaking, "You normally introduce yourself first if you want someone's n-name."

"Is that so?" Naruto asked. "Very well then. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. And this," Naruto pointed to the redhead, "is Sabaku Gaara."

"We're wasting time here," Gaara said in a warning tone.

"Hey," Naruto turned to Gaara, taking his hand back, "this girl might know something about us and possibly our past. She didn't act like the others. After seeing us at a closer range she became afraid of us, something none of the other shinobis we've encountered showed. That means we're different." He turned to her. "So what's you're name now?"

She tried to look away, almost scared and embarrassed at the same time. Once again Naruto lifted her chin up and made eye contact.

They were the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," Naruto assured her.

"M-My name is Hyuuga Hinata…" she quietly said, blushing.

"Could you tell me about your eyes? Why are they pale and pupil-less? They seem to see things that normal eyes won't."

"This has gone on long enough." Gaara said, drawing his pistol. "We can't have anyone slowing us down." Quickly taking aim, he fired at Hinata's horrified face. She shut her eyes against the bullet, afraid of what she would see.

Quickly, Naruto drew his sword and made an upward strike in front of her. Two halves of a bullet fell to the ground, the metal still hot. She stared at them with fear and surprise. _'No one can do that without emitting chakra… There has to be something to provide them with such power…' _Gathering her courage she activated her eyes and looked at Naruto and Gaara once more.

Their bodies were simply black in her vision. There were no dots to label the Tenketsu points. No chakra coils. Nothing except a small green ball at Naruto's stomach and another at Gaara's forehead. She deactivated her bloodline ability.

Naruto looked at Gaara, venom flowing through his suddenly cold eyes. "You will not hurt Hinata," he warned, "not when she can help us discover who we are. She comes with us."

"Hmph," Gaara replied, putting his weapon away. "Very well then. But if either of you slow me down, I will kill the both of you myself." He walked away. "Come on, we're going now. That is unless you want to die here."

Naruto put his sword away and turned back to Hinata. "You'll have to forgive his manners. He's always an ass." She jolted and looked up at him as he extended an arm to her. "Let me help you up." She numbly reached for his hand. As soon as she was up on her too feet, he bent down and reached for her gun. With a smile, he returned it to her. "I believe this is yours?"

She cautiously took it from him.

His hands were warm, like a human's. Yet these persons simply weren't.

* * *

Itachi's Memo X2 

What have I done? The whole balance of life has been thrown off with the presence of those two. It's not natural and I feel disturbed when I see them. To house such raw power within such bodies, it feels wrong to see them even exist.

I've brought the world into danger by creating these two. Whether or not I was following orders, they're potential threats that can destroy the world. All we need is for the world to see how powerful they truly are and the villages would set to wage war in hopes of controlling these two powers.

But with his plan, it won't stop there. He wants me to produce more of these. Then everyone will have access to these super ninjas, if they can afford it, that is. He plans to live off of the money he makes from selling these… super humans. It's wrong to sell a living human for money. We've made a slave trade.

…

I left Konoha for money.

The truth is that if one wants money, one must earn it. But our clan slowly dwindled down. And with less members working, paying for things became harder. We lost property, we lost valuable objects. We almost lost our own home. If I didn't come out to work for him, we would have been evicted from our house, Uchiha family or not. I don't want that to happen to my brother, to live in the streets. I've traveled from village to village and I've seen how hard life is without money.

The pay is good. Really. Not only can I send half of it to my family bank with each check I receive, I can live off the other half easily. The work I did was highly illegal, so it paid well.

Although when I look back, I often wonder whether or not this was the right thing to do. Leaving her, Sasuke and my family…

It was worth it then, but not now.

I don't care for money anymore. I've put in enough into our bank so that my brother can live leisurely for life. I'm sick of doing his work. Him and his twisted views, we don't need the world warring for power anymore. While unavoidable, it doesn't have to be constant fighting like how he wants it to be.

To become thoughtlessly rich at the cost of billions of lives…

Disgusting.

I will do what I can to stop this from happening. It must stop before it begins. I cannot kill them now, for he would immediately suspect me. But perhaps at a more frantic time, it can be done. I'll step in and kill them myself. Until then, I must stay hidden. They cannot know that I am watching there every move.

As for dealing with the Hyuuga member, I will come up with something eventually. While I am probably listed as a missing nin, my loyalty remains at Konoha. I will bring her back. If I'm right, she's the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan and does not have the Cursed Seal on her. If she dies or is captured, Konoha's position as a superpower would drop.

However, if a relationship developed between Naruto and her, things may get ugly. As stated before, the chakra system is linked to the nervous system. If his emotions because of her do trigger the seal to release, he could be under her control and she would gain much power. If something were to happen to her he could go berserk and kill everyone around him…

Speaking of the girl, she did act in a different way. When she dropped her weapon, she had a look of shock and fear, as if she saw something that anatomically impossible. We did not have a Hyuuga member available for viewing the experiments. Something could have slipped by us. When I can, I shall ask what she saw within their bodies.

Experiments…

I've already become like him. They're living, most likely human, yet I treat them as an object rather than a person. I am no different than him. I just had a different goal.

I must do something. I do not know what I will do, but I will. I do not care if I lose my life to destroy this project. It is only right to risk my life to bring an end to this debauchery.

When this is over, I will visit my brother. He deserves to know why I disappeared from his life. After I left him, who knows what I may have done to him. I'll apologize, and whether he accepts it or not, I will relieve myself of this crushing pain of mine.

Yuki…

Forgive me, but I do not intend to see you again in this lifetime. My sins are too great and to bring you down with me in shame is something that I cannot do to you anymore.

* * *

Yes, Yuki will once again be making an appearance in this fic. However, her personality will be very different so don't expect her to be a nymphomaniac, come out of nowhere, and start screwing the daylights out of Itachi in this fic anytime soon (no matter how appealing that sounds... although I might make a oneshot out of it later though). 


	6. Sasuke: 3: Night Operation

After a long period of waiting, I've decided to come back to this fic, mostly because I got tired of Uchiha Crest. So expect some more updates from this story, although the time between each update is variable...

Reviews!

CvR: The focus is a little less on them, although I hope to devote a chapter at some point to the pair.

VenomLord: Woo! Outlaw Star! I loved that show, even if it was in English when I saw it. Maybe I could find it somewhere online...

Jigglypuff: Nope. It's a good idea, but the story, at least what I know of so far, will not be leaning towards that direction.

Gaaraa66: In due time, we will know.

Author's Notes: I'm amazed at how fast I got this chapter out when compared to the normal update time. Maybe I just like this story better. Either way the plot begins to take shape, although a lot of questions will remain unanswered until later.

I do not own Naruto or Gunz.

Onward!

* * *

Sasuke: Chapter 3: Night Operation 

Where the day was beyond hot in Suna, the night was the hidden mercy of Nature. When the sun went down the village suddenly burst into life, becoming an anthill. The entire population arose from their afternoon sleep and enjoyed the cool air, doing errands and living the nightlife.

Street stalls suddenly opened up, selling vegetables, meats, and other small trinkets. Some stalls served snacks to the busy passerby, usually comprised of some rice balls or sweet delicacy, a drink even.

For a native of Suna, this was a part of his average life.

For an outsider it was nothing short of alien and a perfect spot for date.

The team was on their last night in Suna. With nearly everything packed up and ready, they needed only to wait until the sun rose.

As with each night, except the first, they formed pairs and explored the town, looking for anything that was out of the ordinary. The first night Sasuke was paired with Neji. The second night, he had Tenten. And as luck would have it, Sakura was his buddy for tonight.

Fortunately she could act. As they passed the stalls she talked, laughed, smiled at the right time. But they sounded and looked empty; devoid of the mirth that ought to be behind it.

He tried not to get caught looking at her. With every interaction between the two, he snuck a glance towards her eyes. They always looked dull and empty.

People have said that the eyes are the windows into the human soul. Sasuke hoped that this wasn't always the case.

As they passed a food stall, the man running it called out to them. "Good sir, perhaps your young lady friend would like something?"

He grimaced. It was a common selling ploy, targeting young couples. It caused the male to become apprehensive about his image and put him into the spotlight. If he did buy the item, then he paid the price that was the equivalent of penny change when compared to his family bank account. However, if he didn't buy something then not only would he look like a jerk to those around him would, they would condone him for not buying his 'young lady friend' a seemingly harmless snack.

From a shinobi's point of view, drawing as little attention as possible was vital to the success of a stealth mission. From his, he preferred to stay on her good side if she had one and also keep himself from looking like a jackass. Without even asking Sakura, he bought two of them, one for her and one for himself.

Upon receiving the snacks from the vendor, he gave handed her one. She smiled that empty smile again. When they were out of earshot of the vendor, she turned her head to talk to him.

"Why did you buy me one?"

He struggled for the right words. "Common courtesy. He treated us as a young couple and I had to act accordingly."

"How did you know I would like this? You didn't even ask me."

"I didn't know. I just thought that you might like it. Besides, they don't sell these where we live at; you wouldn't know if you liked it or not."

"…" She carefully looked at the morsel before taking a tentative bite out of it. "It's chewy."

Sasuke looked down and bit into his. A grimace sprouted across his face.

Of all the-

A chewy, cherry flavored snack.

He looked over to Sakura, who had taken another small bite. Hers was a shade of green. His was pink.

They slowly ate, walking through the village nightlife, looking for signs of abnormality. Because they were supposed to be as inconspicuous as possible, the both of them had come out a little under-equipped. Sasuke had neither of his swords on him and Sakura was not carrying her rifle. They were too bulky and were left behind in the hotel room.

He was only armed with his pistols. He wasn't even sure if Sakura had a gun on her. The only thing he was sure about was her knife, which he was sure that she stowed it somewhere on her body.

Neither of them had their forehead protectors on.

The silence continued between them after their snacks were gone. It was as if their tongues had suddenly become glued to the roof of their mouth. Sure, they had walked and played the rest of the boyfriend-girlfriend ruse, but the speech was lacking. In a brave attempt he opened his mouth.

"Sakura-san."

"Yes?"

He wavered a little before asking. "May I… ask you a personal question?"

"How personal?"

"Not… very."

"…Alright then."

He carefully asked his question. "What was the happiest moment of your life?"

She did not answer immediately. After a moment, Sasuke realized that perhaps this question was a little sudden and began to speak. "Look, you don't have to answer it now."

"…"

"I was just… curious, I guess."

She nodded.

"But…" he fumbled around for the right words "I would like to know the answer some day."

"Why do you want to know?" her voice was stern, as if convicting him of some crime.

"Well… umm," he looked towards the ground "you don't seem to smile very often."

"I don't?" Sasuke nodded. "Hmm…"

They continued to walk in silence. Where they looked like a young couple, they now appeared as good friends, knowing that they had nothing to tell each other, complacent in what they already knew about the other. It continued on for a little while longer until Sasuke spotted a flash of blonde hair.

Looking towards the source he also spotted some red hair beside it. In a state of half-surprise he nudged Sakura and pointed at the two. "Recognize the colors?"

She nodded. "Those were the hair colors of the ones who killed the Sand nins at the factory site."

"Let's see if we can get a look at their faces."

In what the public would have considered a brave act of affection, Sasuke 'playfully dragged' Sakura into an alley before they both leapt up to the rooftops. As the pair ran to catch up with the two in question, his mind raced with thoughts of why the duo was here. "Didn't that person we met a few days ago say that they were heading towards the Waterfall Village?" he asked.

"That's what I thought too."

"So then why are they here?" he thought aloud. "Unless someone gave us false information…"

"It happens all the time," she calmly replied. "We just have to see their faces to know."

Looking over the side of the building they were on, the two carefully watched their targets. Much to their dismay, they did not look up towards the sky. Instead they were forced to run ahead of them to try and match the picture with their profile.

However, their destination seemed to be in the direction of the Kazekage's main office.

"Sakura-san, I want you to follow the two from here. They seem to be heading to where the Kazekage resides. I'll go there and see if I'm right or not."

"What's the need for this idea of yours?"

"If I'm right, we get to see if these two really are the killers."

"And if you're wrong about their destination?"

"Then I can easily catch back up to you. Your pink hair is much easier to spot than mine." He paused a little. "I'm also thinking that we should inform the authorities; if we were caught spying on them, someone could get the wrong idea." He turned to her. "Think it's a good idea?"

Thinking a little, Sakura nodded her head. "So you're going to tell the Suna ANBU then?"

"Yeah. I'll see you in a short while," Sasuke answered. He then proceeded with his plan and he went off towards the Kazekage office. He sped along for several minutes before he reaching a building next to it. He removed his armaments and made sure that the safety was on. Then he slowly began to leak chakra from him.

While this technique caused him to reveal his position, it was necessary to attract the attention of the authorities in the quietest way possible.

He could already feel several looking at him from the main building. Looking towards the person, he eyed their position, slowly placed his weapons on the ground and kicked them away; a universal sign of benign intentions. He then raised his hands and beckoned for them to come.

Immediately, several ANBU arrived and Sasuke stopped leaking chakra from his body. He would go through the usual inspection.

"Pat him down," one of them said. Raising his arms to his sides, he shuddered a little as he felt their hands searching his body for any concealed weapons.

"He's clean, sir."

"Can't detect any tags either."

"What do you need from us?" the captain, Sasuke presumed, asked him.

"My partner and I are a part of the inspection team sent from Konoha to investigate the now destroyed Kasa Korporation's factory. As you know we reported that there was a murder near its outskirts. A woman appeared to us and said that she had a picture of the two and she told us that they were heading towards the Waterfall Village.

"However, we happened to spot the pair's hair color and silently pursued them. After following them for a while we have guessed that their destination was the Kazekage's office.

"If our suspicion is correct, they may be trying to assassinate your Kage."

"… What does your partner look like?"

"She has pink hair that is easy to spot." He walked towards the edge of the building. "I came from that direction, so I'm assuming that she will be around that area as well."

The captain nodded. "Very well then. You two, alert the rest of the ANBU squad on duty around the Kazekage building. I'll stay here to see if his word is true or not." His subordinates disappeared without a trace.

"So what makes you want to tell us this… ah… your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke, Jounin of Konoha."

"I see…"

"I felt that if we were pursuing a potential pair of killers within your home, it was best if the local authorities be notified. Besides, if my partner and I were caught we could have been charged with trespassing. While it may not seem big, it could damage our villages' treaty with each other."

"You've got a good head on your shoulders, Uchiha-san."

"You need one if you're planning to survive in today's world."

Looking towards the skyline, Sasuke spotted a small tuft of pink. "There, I see her. Do you have binoculars on you?"

The captain handed over his pair and Sasuke looked at the area near Sakura. Taking a quick scan of the path he spotted the pair. Closing his eyes for a moment, he slowly matched the faces to the picture.

"Yeah, they're who we thought they were but… something feels weird about them." He handed the binoculars to the captain.

The man looked through the binoculars. "I know why you feel that something's weird about the pair."

"What is it?"

"They've got Konoha forehead protectors."

All color drained from Sasuke's face. "What?"

"Here," the captain gave the binoculars back. "The redhead has his on his arm, the other has it on his head."

Sasuke looked through them and swore. "You're right," he thrust the binoculars back into the captain's hands. "I have to tell my partner about this. You have to stop them at all costs. I've never seen them around in Konoha at all." He ran over and picked up his weapons. "My partner and I will meet with you back here as soon as possible. Until then please bring us two swords and some arms. We had to leave most of our weapons back at the hotel to blend in better."

"Understood," the captain said gravely, "be careful now." He vanished from sight and Sasuke began to make his way back to Sakura.

When he finally reached her, he urgently called out her name. "Sakura-san! Bad news!"

"…"

"It turns out that the people we were tracking are the killers from the scene."

"And that's bad?"

"However," he said, ignoring her, "they have Konoha headbands." Upon hearing the words, she rushed over to the edge to try and get a better look at the pair.

"Konoha headbands? How did they come across them?" she almost yelled.

"That's not important," he said. He pulled her back from the edge. "I need you to follow me for a moment. I contacted the Suna ANBU and they've been alerted of the pair. We're going to meet up with an ANBU squad captain who will give us some weapons. Got it?"

She nodded, "Understood." Nodding back, Sasuke immediately dashed off in the direction of the meeting place with Sakura following close behind.

Sometimes, Sasuke wished that he wasn't a ninja. Most of the time, he realized how futile of a thought it was, given his current way of life and how if he did not have the abilities that he earned through training, a lot of things would have become much more difficult or tedious to do. But every now and then, he couldn't help but imagine how life would be if he were a mere civilian.

Like many other times, he brushed the thought aside and he arrived at his destination. The captain was there, waiting patiently. He brought with him two swords as well as two standard rifles. Grabbing a set, he first handed it to Sakura before taking one for himself.

Sakura slung the rifle over her shoulder naturally but stared at the sword in her hands. Noticing the pause, the captain looked towards her.

"Something wrong?"

"I don't know how to use a sword…" she trailed off.

"Excuse me for a moment," Sasuke said. Walking over he took the sword from her and placed it against the side of the building. Taking his foot he put pressure on the side of the blade and bent it. The sword snapped, leaving the hilt with a slight extension of what used to be the sword and the blade itself. He handed the hilt back to Sakura. "Now it's a knife. I'm sure you know how to use one." He looked over to the captain as Sakura put her 'knife' away. "How are your defenses?"

"We've set up snipers around the perimeter and they're keeping their eyes on the pair. If they do anything suspicious, we're ready to load them with tranquilizers and take them for questioning."

"And what if they don't do anything suspicious and first enter the building before acting up?"

"We have an inner security on maximum alert. Besides, you two and I will be in there to help out."

"Very well then," Sasuke said. He looked over to Sakura, "Come on, we're going inside."

Carefully following the captain, they leapt off the building and entered through the back door. However, the maximum security the captain spoke of was nowhere in site. "Where is everyone?" the captain exclaimed. He hurried over to the locker room where most of the ANBU used for changing into their masked uniforms.

Upon opening the door, a small gasp was heard.

Half-naked bodies were on the ground. The captain rushed over and felt the pulse of one, then rushed over and felt another person's pulse. "They're still alive, but heavily drugged," he said. "But if these people here are the real ANBU, then-"

"The ones you saw earlier were imposters," Sasuke finished for him.

"But then the security…"

"ANBU-san, I'm afraid that _we're_ the security now," Sakura said. "With the entire team here knocked out, it's up to us three to stop the two. We need to secure the main door."

Barely nodding the captain led them to the front. The main doors were made of glass. "I don't see them out there."

"It could be possible that they had already entered when we were in the locker room. What's the quickest way to the Kage's office?" Sakura asked.

"The elevator, but…" the captain looked at the three elevator doors. Two of them were currently on the bottom floor, but another was slowly moving upwards.

"We're going to need the stairs!" Sasuke yelled. Looking around he spotted the stairwell and immediately began to climb up as fast as he could. The other two followed suit, jumping from level to level until they were on the highest floor.

Rushing out the door they spotted the elevator and kept out of site.

Ding.

The doors opened and out walked a man who was in the middle of his life. He was dressed in the Kazekage uniform and he looked towards the three of them. He recognized the ANBU captain and smiled. "A quick break from the paperwork," the man said.

Coming out from their hiding spots, the three of them gave a sigh. Tensions were high and the sudden discovery of the Kazekage did not help ease the air around them. As the man reached for the doorknob into his office he suddenly pulled back and moved aside. Two shots were fired through the door, fortunately missing. Sasuke immediately ran over and kicked the door down.

Inside were the two assassins 'sent' from the Leaf.

"It would appear that we've got some unexpected guests," the blonde said.

"We're only here for the Kazekage. Step aside." Both of them had a pistol in hand.

"We can't let you do that," Sakura replied. She aimed her rifle at them. "ANBU-san, you know the place better than we do. Take your leader somewhere safe. We'll deal with these two."

Nodding, the captain and Kazekage vanished from sight.

"Who are you, and why are you impersonating Konoha Shinobi?" Sasuke asked aloud.

"We were sent by the Hokage herself to carry out this assassination. If you get in the way, you will be tried for treason," the blonde smiled. "That is, unless we take care of you here first." He took aim and fired at Sasuke. He dodged the bullet before pulling out his own revolver and fired back.

A firefight quickly grew. Sakura had taken aim with her rifle and unleashed it at the man with red hair. He flipped the Hokage's desk over and ducked beneath it. He took aim at Sasuke and fired a few rounds. Knowing that he was in a dangerous position Sasuke flipped out of the room and fired several rounds back at the red head who had ducked behind the desk once again.

The area they were fighting in did not allow much mobility. Being limited to such a fighting ground, Sasuke had few options to rely on. Sakura could provide little more than covering fire in here and she knew that as well. Seeing as how their opponents were hiding behind objects, Sasuke needed to use a piercing technique.

Quickly he did several hand seals. Blue electricity crackled in the air as he aimed at the desk and fired. The blue bolt traveled, tearing a hole in the desk.

Blood leaked out from behind it and the area became quiet. Taking out his sword, he carefully walked towards the entrance. A gun came out of the corner and fired a blind shot at him. He deflected it away before slicing the gun's barrel off. Running in he looked to his side and spotted the other person. He had taken up a fighting stance.

Moving in Sasuke gave a quick slash to his arm in hopes of disabling him. The blonde was quicker, dodging the strike and giving a quick kick to Sasuke's chest, throwing him off balance and into a wall. As Sasuke slammed into it his sword flew out of his hand from the pain he did not expect; the man was stronger than he thought. The blonde quickly grabbed the sword and threw it out of the window, breaking it.

Sasuke had hoped that Sakura would try to help him, but he knew how difficult that was, given the situation. When there are two people in close combat, people tended to not shoot since they were afraid that they would hit the wrong target. Getting up from the wall he delivered a quick punch to the blonde's open face.

As he watched them make contact, he couldn't help but feel that the face felt a little… different.

Seeing as how the distance between the two had increased, Sakura fired her rifle at him only to see him dodge them effortlessly. Taking the opportunity Sasuke rushed in and instead of trying to punch him again, he reached and try to claw at his face.

His fingers caught with something and he removed the mask as well as the blonde wig and he paused for a moment.

"I see that you've managed to take my mask, Uchiha-san."

"K-Kabuto?" Sasuke breathlessly said. "What's going on here?"

"More than you should worry about." Kabuto shook his head a little bit, wincing from the pain of what Sasuke assumed was his punch. He looked a little ruffled as if he had traveled very quickly to reach this place.

"How did you get from Konoha to here so fast?" Sasuke asked.

"I am the fastest messenger in Konoha. Would you expect any less of me?" he said, smirking.

"But why were you trying to kill us?"

"That's for you to try and find out," Kabuto said, slowly edging towards the broken window. "You've got a nice hook there," he commented, rubbing his jaw a little. "Although you may want to cut your nails some time soon."

"I don't understand!" Sasuke cried. "Why would you be sent to kill the Kazekage? We've got a damn peace treaty with them! What is the Hokage thinking?"

"Uchiha-san," Kabuto said, slowly inching towards the broken window, "For your brother's sake, don't get involved."

"M-My brother?"

"Until next time." The gray haired shinobi leapt out the window. Sasuke ran over and looked down but spotted no one.

Once again his brother's name was on the wind's breath, appearing faintly before whisking away. He turned around and left the room.

"Sakura-san, we're leaving now." He looked around and saw that no one was there, only a discarded rifle and empty casings. Walking out a little more, he spotted what looked like a tuft of pink hair peaking out of a corner. Rushing over he found that Sakura had almost hidden herself in the corner. Her knees were tucked into her chest and she had almost become a little ball.

"Sakura-san! What's wrong?"

She didn't answer.

Getting onto his knees he gripped her shoulders and looked at her eyes. They seemed a little emptier than they usually were.

"What happened?" he asked once again. Her body shook and her voice was raspy, her words incoherent.

* * *

Don't worry, I haven't permanently ditched Uchiha Crest. I just want a break from it. If you have any questions feel free to ask, although keep in mind that not all may be answered, especially if it's plot related.  



	7. Naruto: 3: Shatter

Here we go! The next chapter is here! I originally hoped to release this on April 1st as a finished chapter (this happened to one of my fics on accident and I wanted to make it a tradition), but this chapter was a little harder than I expected. Nevertheless, it is here now. Response time!

Kalevra: From what I've seen so far, most fics involving guns and Naruto were often of the high school gang genre. It got old after a while and then I started playing Gunz and thought, "Naruto and Gunz might just be the perfect match." And so this fic was made.

Chidori vs Rasengan: The Memo should answer your question.

HasaBusa: I hope to expand on the cliff hanger, but I'm not sure if it will appear in the next chapter.

Author's Notes: Once again I would like to thank my beta SolarisAstrum. He's not perfect, but he does a good job. He still needs help with his Order of Demons fic though, so go help him!

I do not own Naruto or Gunz.

Onward!

* * *

Naruto: Chapter 3: Shatter 

Report Three:

There happened to be a mishap in part four of the plan. Kabuto's team was intercepted and stopped before they could execute their part. Kabuto managed to escape and his partner was killed; we do not have to worry about interrogation destroying our plans.

Everything else, however, went according to plan. An International Crisis will be declared and all fingers will point to Konoha. Then you can make your announcement of The Leaf's 'plans' and start selling your products to other nations.

A group of chuunins managed to find the two of them. They attempted to engage them in combat but failed miserably. The two killed all except a Hyuuga from the main family. I saw her activate the Byakuugan and then freeze a moment later, as if in shock or fear. Instead of taking the opportunity to kill her, he decided to let her live in exchange, perhaps, for information.

I am unsure of how this situation will develop, but I have an idea about the two of our creations. While Gaara may be the embodiment of what we tried to achieve in this experiment, Naruto has far greater potential to grow in ways that both positively and negatively affect our plan. He may even be able to greatly surpass Gaara. While Naruto may be considered a 'defective product', we may have been able to sway him to our favor. He is what I could only deem as the variable factor.

Nonetheless, when they have achieved their goal, they will be disposed of, Hyuuga included.

Uchiha Itachi

---

It had been two days since the death of her teammates and her capture. Two days since she had met the two strangers. Two days since she had her life spared.

She had wondered about her family and friends. What would they think, that the clan heir failed to demonstrate the power of the Hyuugas?

But… they would understand, right? No Hyuuga had ever faced someone who did not have a chakra coil system, or two of them at the same time. They didn't even use chakra and already they were strong enough to stop bullets and kill within seconds.

It was nighttime. They had been moving towards the Waterfall village, northeast of Sand. They had long left the small forest where they first met and were now traversing grassy plains. But for tonight, they were enjoying a brief moment of rest by a small campfire.

Or, at least the other two were. She was more than nervous about her situation. The first day was nerve wracking. They traveled in near total silence; only their footsteps were heard. They had stopped to eat a little of the food they had brought before continuing once more. As always, Hinata traveled between them. It was easier to keep an eye on her that way.

She had given up on running away when they had fallen asleep. Normally, a person's awareness level was at its lowest one they were sleeping. She had tried to sneak away last night, but Naruto had somehow managed to catch her, even though he had been sleeping seconds ago. She asked him how he had known.

Both Naruto and Gaara had stayed up for a while before going to sleep, watching the flames of the campfire crackle. They had caught some small game and had roasted it for dinner. While it was not the best of meals, Hinata had almost devoured it, having not eaten very much. While they had fed her, the group itself had been low on provisions. They only had enough for two people at that time but since Hinata was now with them Naruto had opted to split his meal with her.

If she remembered correctly, the words he used were "She's my captive and therefore I should take care of her." He was a kind person at most, but still an enemy. Taking the chance to run away from the sleeping pair, she quietly moved away from them.

His voice caught her off guard however. "You know, Hinata, I would suggest that you stay where you are and sleep. We've got a lot of walking to do tomorrow."

She had let out a small meep before turning around. He was still next to the campfire, except this time he had a gun pointed at her. "H-How did you know that I was running away? Y-You were sleeping moments a-ago." She was more than just afraid of Naruto. Here was a man who could tell when she was leaving when he was asleep. And she was sure that he was sleeping; his body movement was rhythmic, like that of a sleeping person.

"Come here," he said, lowering his gun. Reluctant to obey she cautiously trudged over. When she was close enough he stood up, towering above her by a few good inches. Then very slowly he took his a finger and placed it between her eyes. She initially blinked and shrank a little, but upon realizing that he did not hurt her, she returned to her normal composure.

"I'm not sure if you know what I'm talking about, but have you ever stuck your finger between your eyes? You get a strange feeling at the front of your forehead." Hinata carefully nodded. "Well when we first took you with us, that's what it felt like to me. I'm not sure how, but apparently your presence seemed to give me that strange feeling. However, I became used to it. But since you were trying to move away, that feeling came back, except it was the opposite of the previous situation; it felt strange because you weren't there," he finished. "There's something strange that radiates from you. I'm not sure what it's called, but I don't think I have it."

"You're a special person, Hinata. I can feel it."

He had called her special.

---

They were on the move again. Having left at the break of daylight, they were only a few hours away from the Waterfall Village. This was Hinata's chance to escape. While they may have been in some small towns, Naruto and Gaara have probably never been inside a hidden village.

However, she was unsure of the current situation. Had Konoha, realizing that she was late in returning to home base, sent out another squad to try and find her? Or perhaps the Waterfall Village was informed of their coming and prepared to try and capture them? She bit her lip.

She was leaving a danger zone only to enter a minefield.

"Say, Hinata," Naruto suddenly piped up. He stopped walking.

"Y-Yes?" she quickly answered.

"How did you manage to find us anyway?"

"F-Find you?"

"Yeah."

"W-Well… first, we received a letter from a dispatch t-team, saying that you two killed three Sand shinobi and that you were on you're way to the Waterfall V-Village. Then we calculated the time of occurrence to the d-distance traveled within that time, predicted a course, and s-set out."

Naruto's face darkened. Suddenly, Hinata had a feeling that she shouldn't have told him that.

"Is there a chance that there are more people after us?" By now, Gaara had turned around and was focused on their conversation.

She looked away from Naruto. Her hope of escaping was still within reach, but now a hurdle had come up.

The only thing she needed to do was to gain entrance into the Waterfall Village. After that, she could be home free. While she was still in danger of being captured for research purposes, if Konoha found out the small village would not last long and her family secret would be covered up again by blood.

All she needed to do was to lie to Naruto. She highly doubted that he would know the difference anyway. "N-No, at least not from my village. In fact, I b-believe my team was scheduled to arrive back home by now, so we're not marked as late y-yet." She was supposed to have arrived yesterday.

Her statement was considered credible, as Naruto nodded a little and began to walk once more. However, they did not start again as Gaara voiced his question.

"Does your hometown have enemies?" he asked.

Hinata remained silent. "Is it possible that this village we are about to enter an enemy of yours?"

This was an unexpected development. Should she lie here as well?

He began to advance towards her. "Do you or do you not have enemies here?" he said, this time harsher. She immediately withdrew towards Naruto. However, she found that he had left her and was suddenly next to Gaara.

"Let me take care of this," Naruto said. Taking out his pistol, he took aim and fired a round at her frozen figure.

She felt the heat and wind from the bullet next to her face. Fear suddenly lashed out and bound her tight. He had purposely missed to show how serious he was. "Hinata, is this village hostile territory for you?"

Without pause she nodded her head furiously. If only he would stop pointing that gun at her!

"Will we be in danger if enter?"

"Y-Yes!" she cried. Falling to her knees, she began to whimper and shake. She heard footsteps and felt a shadow overcome her. Immediately she fell back and began to edge herself away.

This was it. She was going to die here, wasn't she? With escape so close, she would die with it in her sights. A few tears streaked paths down her face. She'd never see her friends or family again.

"Calm yourself down," Naruto said softly. "I'm not going to kill you." He had put his gun away and now extended his hand towards her. She looked at it as if it were a festering piece of carrion.

When it was obvious that she would not take his hand, he knelt down to her eye level. "Where is the next closest village?"

"R-Rain. The Village of Rain!" she almost yelled, her voice still carrying fear behind it. It was also a hostile village, but maybe she could pass it off as friendly one next time.

"How far are we from it?"

"T-Three day's walk." Her breath was short.

"Very well then." Naruto stood up and glanced over to Gaara. "It looks like we're in for a change of plans. How much supplies do we have?"

"Only enough for one day, but if we can head towards a river or catch some game, we may last a little longer," he calmly replied.

"It looks like our plans are set then. We head towards Rain." He turned towards Hinata and once again extended his hand.

"Come on Hinata, we've have some more walking to do now."

---

It was the second day after their course change. They had managed to find a river and decided that they would go no further, as the amount of light was not enough to travel by. It was raining.

They found a small cove that acted as a little overhang as shelter from the falling droplets. Underneath it Hinata was tending to a small fire, making sure that the fish above it were being thoroughly cooked. They had already eaten, but it was decided that it would be best to prepare for tomorrow, as they planned to walk nonstop until they arrived at Rain.

They finished what provisions they had yesterday. They did not have much water and lacked an object to boil the river water in. While it was clean, they doubted that it would last for longer than a few hours before it became unsafe to drink. And once again, Naruto shared his portion with her.

Gaara had long gone to sleep. When Naruto asked why he was sleeping so soon Gaara replied "there was nothing better to do." So it was only Hinata and Naruto awake now.

He had been standing in the rain for the past few minutes. While it was barely more than a light drizzle, his clothing was not suited for water exposure and his clothing was beginning to become more than just damp.

She tried to call out to him. "Um… N-Naruto-san," she said as loudly as she could. "Y-You might not want to stand in the rain for so long."

"Why not?" he said, looking towards her. "It feels nice."

"Y-You'll catch a cold. The R-Rain village is known to have cold rain almost year round."

"Really, now?" he asked her. He turned to look towards the black sky again. "You can call me Naruto if you want." Hinata was a little shocked to hear his response, as proper etiquette often required her to address someone who was of a higher position with at least a –san. Obviously her captor should deserve at least that title, if only given out of fear.

Then again, this man seemed to live outside the boundaries of society. He was almost a child, overly trusting and curious to a fault. At least he was not filled with energy, as most young children often are.

"M-Maybe you should try to sleep. W-We intend to get to Rain by tomorrow, remember?"

"Not tired."

Perhaps he had more energy than he let on. That or he simply redirected it somewhere else.

"The fish are beginning to burn."

Hinata quickly blushed and removed the fish from the heat. She looked up into a nearby tree.

"You know, perhaps we should have thought of this earlier, but where are we going to put the fish?" Naruto asked.

"U-Um… in survival class, we were taught that large leaves are good material to wrap food with," she said, examining one of the leaves. "I think these leaves are l-large enough for use."

"How many will we need?"

"T-Three big ones will be enough."

When she stopped craning her neck upwards, she saw that Naruto had already picked out several leaves and had begun to walk to her. "Will these be good enough?" he asked, showing them to her.

"Y-Yes, these are fine." She was a little more than surprised to see his eagerness to help. She had cleaned the leaves in the nearby river before putting the cooked fish onto them. As she began to wrap them, she couldn't help but notice how Naruto was carefully watching her hands. It was not long before he spoke.

"Could you teach me how to do this?"

"Huh?"

"Teach me how to use leaves like that. It seems very useful."

"W-Well… first you pull this side over…"

Naruto had picked another leaf from the tree and began to slowly follow suit, once again looking intently at her hands.

"Then you f-fold in the sides and roll it up."

"Hmm…" he stared at his product and compared it to hers. "It's a lot thinner than yours…"

"M-Mine has a fish in it. Yours d-doesn't."

"Ah."

When she had wrapped up the fish (she did not want to entrust this task to Naruto just yet…), Hinata decided that the time had come to sleep. She told Naruto, just in case. He nodded and went back to his leaf crafting. And so the night passed.

The next morning, Hinata found Naruto asleep next to the burnt out fire. There were leaf wrappings all over the ground.

---

Itachi's Memo X3

Surely, I will go to Hell for this. There is no chance of redemption for me now. The blood which stains my hands, they have seeped through my skin and leaves itself there as a burning reminder.

I pressed the button.

I set the wavelength and pressed the button. Never have I seen such destruction. If only I could take it all back!

I would undo all my deeds. I would lose the money I earned for my family, but I would have saved my own soul from such torment. Even now I feel their ghostly hands around me, reaching to grasp and pull me into the depths of the earth. Each voice is a scream of revenge; I took their lives, now they seek to take mine. They may yet succeed.

The pair was not supposed to go to the Hidden Rain Village. They were supposed to head towards Waterfall, but they had decided to change course at the last moment. They positioned themselves farther away from our containment team. The original plan for them was to take the role of mercenaries and kill Naruto and Gaara. They were then to plant Leaf forehead protectors onto their bodies. Fingers would point to Konoha, leading the world to detest this one nation and bring about its eventual downfall.

I have taken precautionary measures to prevent these 'mercenaries' from achieving their objectives. Headquarters still thinks that they are in position. Whether I am suspected of my deceit, I may not find out until it is too late. For now, I can only hope that I will last long enough.

Kabuto told me that my younger brother had stopped him from killing the Kazekage. I was surprised to hear of that since Kabuto had gone through extensive training just to deal with Kage level shinobi. I can only assume that my brother had taken it unto himself to train hard and wait until he has his chance to find me. He has not known my motives for leaving the family and perhaps he has decided on the worst-case scenario. It is still possible, though, that Kabuto had not expected outside help and was stopped due to human error.

I am unsure of the other assassins' success, but I believe that they are more than capable of fulfilling their objective.

Kabuto was with me when he saw the devastation of the Rain Village. He does not know of my eventual betrayal and I would prefer to keep him out of the loop for as long as possible. He is young; there is no need to condemn him to death yet. I know that I will not walk out alive from my own darkness and I would like to keep the casualties to myself and those deeply involved in the creation of Naruto and Gaara.

When I pressed the button, the two of them immediately lost their balance and supported themselves on nearby structures. Their seals glowed brightly before chakra leaked out of their bodies at alarming rates.

Activation of their seals at level one simply increases their abilities and senses. They suffer the loss of their free will and become mindless killing drones, destroying shinobis within detection range.

At level two, they sprout tendrils of what seems to be chakra and lash out at all humans. They first wrap around the target before disintegrating it, turning them into dust and then nothingness. They are merciless and kill without discretion. No trace is left of the person.

When the madness had subsided, Rain was a ghost town with three survivors: Naruto, Gaara, and the Hyuuga.

I do not know how she survived, as these two are made for destruction. I did not know that our ability to manipulate chakra structures from inseminationof a being was so advanced. If I get the chance, perhaps I will ask her how she managed to live through the slaughter.

---

The easiest job in the world was the position of Crisis Operator of the International Crisis System. Implemented in all of the five superpowers as well as other small villages shortly after the end of the Shinobi Wars near thirty years ago, its job was to alert all other shinobi nations when a serious crisis afflicted one of them. As they had created and joined the Five Nation Treaty with each other, they would oblige to help, lest face the combined wrath of the other four.

The ICS was built of a large computer mainframe whose sole job was to pick up any cry for help that was sent from any other nation. The Crisis Operator was simply supposed to send the video link to headquarters.

Today, the easiest job on earth became one of the most harrowing.

"Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade shifted around in her bed, mumbling to herself.

"Hokage-sama! Please wake up!" Someone was knocking. Getting up, she strode over in her nightclothes and opened her bedroom door.

"This better be good," she threatened.

"Hokage-sama, it's an emergency!" the messenger cried. "We've picked up a signal on the ICS machine!"

She snapped to attention. "Have it relayed to headquarters immediately! I'll be there shortly. Activate the alarm and get all hands ready for immediate procedures!" The messenger bowed and ran off to the ICS room while Tsunade made her way to the operating room.

The halls suddenly turned red. Sirens and bells tolled, awaking the sleeping staff. As they rushed to headquarters, the Hokage was already barking orders. "Man your positions! I want all available shinobis not on guard duty to report to the debriefing bay in the situation where we need to send them on missions."

Eventually the bustle of the room died down and all eyes were on the main screen. Tsunade leaned in and pressed a button on a board. "We're ready for the message, operator," she spoke into the microphone.

"Sending!"

The screen flickered before focusing and showing the image of a shinobi from the Water Village. "This is the representative of the Hidden Village of Water. We are here to report the assassination of the Mizukage at the hands of Konoha shinobi. We want immediate reparations as well as the immediate resignation and jailing of the Hokage or we will declare total war upon Konoha."

The entire room was silent.

"H-Hokage-sama!" a voice yelled over the radio. "There is another messa- no, two messages!"

"Send up the first one!" she barked.

The screen became static for a moment and then displayed a Lightning Shinobi. "I am here to relay the assassination of the Raikage to all shinobi nations, also at the hands of Konoha! We stand with the Village of Water in our demands. If they are not met, we will not hesitate to attack Konoha."

Then a Stone nin appeared; the second message. "We also stand by the nation of Water! We have lost our Kage to Konoha and we will not sit idly by! We demand the jailing, no, the execution of the Hokage! We will support our brothers in arms if our demands are not met!"

Not a soul moved in the room. Their world had stopped revolving. Tsunade clenched her hands and let out a rough breath.

"Hokage-sama," a daring person spoke out. "What should we do?"

"…" Tsunade paused before speaking. "Call the Kazekage. I haven't seen a Suna nin talk about anything on the ICS yet. Perhaps he's still alive. Konoha has just been accused of killing three of the most powerful people on this damn planet. And we're going to need all the help we can get."

"Y-Yes!" The operating team worked quickly to put the Kazekage on the line. They were lucky that the phones were still working.

"This is the Kazekage speaking. Let it be known that Suna stands by your side, Hokage-sama. I was also targeted by assassins wearing Konoha forehead protectors but one of your units situated here managed to stop the attempt. They claim that they had no idea that you would issue such an order." Tsunade sighed a breath of relief as the Kazekage hung up. At least one nation got by unscathed. "I would agree with them as well, as I doubt you would do such a thing. "

"My saviors recognized and identified one of the assassins, Yakushi Kabuto. If he arrives at Konoha, seize him and begin questioning. I have a feeling that there is more than what meets the eye going on." He then hung up. He had his own nation to attend to.

The ICS operator yelled out once more. "Hokage-sama! There's one more message on the ICS!"

"Put it up," she said calmly. It couldn't be any worse than what they've seen so far.

"…This is H-Hyuuga Hinata speaking. I'm in the Village of Rain right now and I just f-found the ICS system. The v-village has been completely wiped out. T-There are no survivors except me and these two." She moved aside to show Naruto and Gaara lying on the floor in the background. "I don't know w-what exactly happened but they…" she was at a loss of words. "The c-citizens of Rain are no more. P-Please, someone help me!" Her picture then faded away.

There was a pause before Tsunade acted. "Establish contact with the Village of Rain, now!"

The clacking of buttons was heard. There was a dial tone and a quiet voice on the other end. "H-Hello?"

"Hyuuga-san!" Tsunade yelled into the phone. "Do not move from your position. We will be sending forces immediately for your extraction as well as your targets! Where is the rest of your team?"

"D-Dead, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade grimaced. "Very well then. Fortify your position and get some rest. You understand your importance to this village, so do not let yourself fall into the wrong hands." She hung up without even waiting for a response from Hinata. "Do we have any teams outside of Konoha? Which one's closest to Rain?"

"Uchiha Sasuke's team is still situated in Suna, three days walk west from Rain."

"Very well then. Get the Kazekage on the line once more. Tell him that I hereby authorize the use of radio contact with headquarters for any and all missions and that we wish to borrow four radios from him." The personnel paused for a moment before continuing with their work. "I know it's illegal, but there isn't much of a choice. We've just been accused of killing three of the most powerful people on earth."

* * *

Here's to hoping that there are few plot holes! 


	8. Sasuke: 4: Rescue

After a somewhat long hiatus, I'm back with another update. I was away for six weeks in Asia in the summer and before that I was busy working on another fic elsewhere. But I'm ready to continue this story again. Review Response time!

Hasabusa: I can't answer your first question, but the second one I can. Itachi _did not_ kill his clan. They died on missions and other natural causes. Because this AU deals with weapons that can kill with extreme proficiency, the abilities of a shinobi are very demanding and most die very early in their service.

superninjamonkey: Gunz is a third person shooter that is very fast paced compared to most regular shooters. Go to its homepage and look into it, you might just like it.

And now some notes. I'm moving down to San Diego and starting college on the 25th, so I'm unsure how much time I can devote to my fics. Rest assured, however, that I intend to finish both Uchiha Crest and Product Shinobi. Speaking of the former, I will begin writing for that story again as it's time to shake off the dust.

I would like to thank my two friends Soryuju24 and SolarisAstrum for both helping with the beta process.

I do not own Naruto or Gunz.

Onward!

* * *

Sasuke: Chapter 4: Rescue 

"Uchiha Sasuke, please report to the briefing room. Repeat: Uchiha Sasuke, please report to the briefing room."

The intercom's message was more than enough to rouse Sasuke from his bed. He was in one of the many sleeping quarters within the Kazekage headquarters. The room he was in seemed to be roomier than others, as he had passed by many more when he was brought here. Perhaps it was reserved for those of higher rank. Sitting up, he groggily rubbed his eyes a little and sighed.

Last night was hell for both Sakura and him. Immediately after the Kazekage's safety was assured, both of them were taken into custody for a debriefing, followed by an interrogation. Sasuke was able to fulfill his part without a problem. It was Sakura that gave both the Sand and him the hardest time.

Her nervous breakdown had slowed down the debriefing and interrogation process considerably. She could barely speak straight and it was as if those talking to her were non-existent. She would only speak to him. And even then, Sasuke barely made any sense of it. Eventually, she was taken to the mental ward of the hospital to recover. Her questioning was postponed.

Having taken the time to wash up a little, Sasuke grabbed his equipment, which lay by the door. They were brought over from the hotel at which they were previously staying. He was about to leave when he noticed another backpack by the door. There was a dagger hanging out of the top of it.

It was Sakura's belongings. Normally he wouldn't dare look through another person's possessions out of curiosity, especially if it belonged to the opposite gender. But this time, he had to make sure of something. Carefully prying open the bag, he looked in. Shifting things around, he found what he was looking for and just as carefully as he opened it before, he closed it and began to move towards the briefing room.

When he arrived, he pushed open the door.

"You're late," said Neji, appearing more tense than usual. Looking around, he noticed that Tenten was in the room as well.

Taking a moment to calm himself, he turned to him and responded, "Sorry, but I've had one of the worst nights of my life. I'm sure you can grant me at least a little reprieve."

"Let's not get into a fight now, gentlemen, we've got quite a bit ahead of us." Turning towards the front of the room, Sasuke realized that the Kazekage was speaking directly to the three of them. "While you were resting after your debriefing and interrogation, there were five messages sent over the International Crisis System.

"Three of them came from the hidden villages of Lightning, Stone, and Water, each of them claiming that their Kages were assassinated by Leaf shinobi and demanding the execution of the Hokage. The fourth one came from me, saying that Sand would support the Leaf. The reason why would happen to be that you and your pink-haired teammate saved my life and also unmasked one of the perpetrators. They seemed to want to frame Konoha. We have not yet revealed our reasoning to support your village, but we will release that information when the time is right.

"Finally, the fifth message came from the Waterfall village. The sender was Hyuuga Hinata, cousin of your team captain and heir to the Hyuuga Clan. She claimed that the village had been wiped out by some unknown force, but she has achieved her objective and needs to be evacuated immediately for her own safety as well as that of her subjects.

"Your team happens to be closest to the Waterfall village, so Konoha has asked us to prepare you for the mission. I have already informed these two earlier, so do you, the newcomer, have any questions?"

"Where's Sakura?" Sasuke immediately asked.

"She's... still recovering in the mental ward," Tenten cautiously answered.

"Why isn't she here? We're going as a team, aren't we?" Sasuke immediately shot back.

"We've arranged for her to be escorted back to Konoha," said Neji.

"Why is that?"

"You should know that she is now a liability to our team. We cannot risk having her with us."

"So she's just some handicap to us now?" Sasuke seethed.

"She'll be a deadweight if she doesn't recover soon enough."

"Sakura is not a _thing_. She is suffering from mental anxiety and will be back to normal soon."

"Haruno is _useless_ to us rig-"

Sasuke walked up and grabbed Neji by the scruff of his clothes. "Take. That. Back," he said slowly.

"I will not stand for insubordination, Uchiha," Neji calmly replied.

"And I will not stand for the insulting of a teammate, Hyuuga!" Sasuke yelled.

Neji smirked. "Fine then." Pulling his leg in, he gave a quick shove to Sasuke's chest, pushing him away. "If you think you can help this team out by bringing Sakura back, then be my guest and try." And then he winked at him. Surprised by the gesture, Sasuke was mostly speechless.

"Well, now that the spectacle is over, you are dismissed," the Kazekage calmly replied. "Such infighting within a Sand cell would be immediately reprimanded, but in this case it was not necessary to step in." The man cleared his throat. "You will head over to the supply room and gather whatever equipment you need. Then you are to meet up at the West Gate for departure."

Nodding, the three of them left the room. However, Sasuke was not quite done talking to his captain. "Hyuuga, I need to have a word with you." Nodding, Neji ordered Tenten to head to the supply room first. When they were adequately out of earshot, Sasuke turned and shoved Neji into a wall, his Sharingan activated.

"How did you know that Sakura's panties were white?" his voice was burning and his face was tinged red at the subject he was talking about.

"Oh, I took a peek some time before we left Konoha," Neji smartly replied, eager to get more reactions from the raven-haired man.

"Just where did you take a peek at?"

"I looked into her bag, that's all. Would you like to know the color of her bra as well?"

"I already know what color those are."

"Oh, so you've gone through her bag as well then?"

His face turned darker, but he maintained his poise. Taking a breath, he closed his eyes. "I swear, if I find out that you've been peeping on her in any way, I will gouge out your eyes and leave you for dead." He then opened, revealing his black eyes and began to walk away.

"I bet you would kill for just one of these eyes," Neji taunted. Sasuke simply pretended to not hear him.

---

Sasuke was never familiar with hospitals. From what he understood during his time of service, if one were ever admitted into a hospital it usually meant several things: critical wound, extreme sickness, or being close to death. The worst wound he ever had was a bullet in the arm. He never had a sickness that was more dangerous than the common cold. And seeing how he was still fairly alive, he had not been close to death either.

After much inquiring he managed to find the psychological branch of the place. By asking a few more questions, he was led to Sakura's room. Taking a breath, he knocked on the door. "Sakura, are you in there?"

There was no immediate answer.

"Hello?"

"… Come in," the voice was soft, but it was there. Wasting no time he hurriedly opened the door and saw Sakura sitting on the side of her bed. She was not wearing her normal outfit but instead was in a hospital gown.

It was as if she was a completely different person now. Without her dark uniform she looked carefree, although Sasuke knew that she was far from it. Her eyes were glazed over, obviously not thinking about the current situation.

He carefully addressed her. "Sakura."

She straightened a little before turning to look up at him. "I thought you were the doctor," she whispered. Her voice was unusually quiet. Normally staunch and adamant, this new tone was a surprise for him.

"Well, I'm not the doctor," he responded. "Do you mind if I sit down?" he indicated towards the spot next to her and she shook her head, shifting over to make some room for him. Upon sitting down, he realized that he was at a loss for words. Glancing out of the side of his eye, he noticed that she was once again lost in her own thoughts and he had more than enough time to get the conversation started.

"How are you doing?" he figured that this would be the smartest way to start off the conversation.

She shrunk a little. "I'm fine," she quietly said.

"Did the doctors treat you alright?"

A quick nod, "They treated me nicely. It's probably because I'm from Konoha and there may be laws protecting me."

"That's good to hear." He paused for a moment. "Do you want to talk about what happened last night?"

She shook her head. "At least not here."

"Alright then." He had been holding onto Sakura's bag and weapons ever since he arrived here. Sasuke knew that they would not let her out to get them on her own, so he figured that he was doing her a favor. He placed them onto the bed beside her. "I got you your things, in case you wanted them."

"…"

"… I had a feeling that they wouldn't let you get it yourself, nor would they have been able to find it easily."

"… Thank you," she slowly placed the bag onto her lap and opened it. "Someone's been looking through this bag."

Shoot. "The hospital security had to go through it; they don't want any accidents to happen here."

"How did you get the weapons through?"

"I got special permission from the Kazekage to bring them here." She nodded, believing him. He breathed a sigh of relief before continuing. "We've been assigned another mission." She stayed still for a moment. After a moment's pause, he began once more. "The Hyuuga heiress is currently in danger of being captured by foreign shinobi. Because we're closest to her location, our group has been sent out to retrieve her."

"Do you think you're ready for a mission?" There. He had said it. Now he simply had to wait for her response. Hopefully it would be a clear yes or no. Otherwise, he may have to try to persuade her.

It could be said that Sasuke cared for her. For now, Sakura did not need to know how much he cared for her.

She closed off a little. "I don't want to go."

Now he had to carefully bring her back into the open, convince her that they were on her side, and that it would be all right. "Why not?"

"I don't trust anyone right now." She grew a little more distant. "It's what I told everyone when we left Konoha. I trust no one, and anyone that acts suspiciously, I will kill them." It was her motto, the words that she lived by.

"… We left Konoha as a team. A team needs to trust everyone in it. Without trust, there is no team and whatever power we have is only an illusion," he had planned these words out millions of times, just waiting for the perfect opportunity. "We trusted you when we were out on the desert and encountered those Stone Nins."

"That was different. It was an order from a superior."

"I trusted you when you were with me last night. On this mission I am not your superior. In fact, I am your peer," he said, ignoring her. He did his best to maintain a calm voice. Mentioning last night caused her to breath a little faster. She did her best to control it.

"I'm asking that you help us one more time. After that, we will request that you be put on sick leave when we go back. You can take all the time you need to get back to your normal self. Just trust us."

"…"

"Or if you can't trust them, then just trust me."

---

Neji and Tenten were waiting by the city gates when their partners finally arrived.

"You're late," Neji started.

"The hospital is far away from the supply room," Sasuke responded. "Besides, I had to get Sakura briefed on the mission." Sakura looked indifferent. Now that she had her normal clothes back, she once again became the person he knew and cared for.

"Very well then. Since you were the one who wanted to have her along, she will be your responsibility. Is that clear, Uchiha?"

"U…Understood," he had thought that they would be taking care of her together, but instead it was only himself. He cursed himself for the pause in his speech; hopefully Sakura did not catch it.

"Now that that's out of the way, I have some news for us," Neji began. He pulled out four parcels, tossed three of them to his squad members, and opened the other one. "These are radio headsets. Originally banned from any use in operations, Konoha has decided to take the initiative and claim the upper hand. Equip them now."

It was one of the newer models, as Sasuke had never seen such a design before. One end of it went behind and over his ear before trailing down a wire to a small black box that hung near his hip pouch.

"I will be giving hourly updates to Konoha as we progress to the Rain Village. Do not break ranks and maintain radio silence unless something is wrong. Is that understood?" The team nodded.

"Tenten and I will be in the front while you two will be behind us. We will be moving at top speed and we should reach the village by nightfall." With no further words, the two began to leave.

"I think you should go in front of me. It's most likely safer," he said, turning to Sakura. She nodded and soon they were both on their way.

The trip itself was uneventful. But Sasuke's thoughts ran wild, both concerning the mission and relishing in his small success with Sakura. Each topic vied for control by presenting itself in a new, more dangerous way. 'What if someone had already beat the team to the objective?' was pushed out by 'What if Sakura was beginning to finally see how much he was trying to help her?'

Before he had realized it, the sun had just set and they were outside the Village for Rain.

Having covered a three-day walk in one day's time, Sasuke was more than a little winded. Looking around, he discovered that the others were also suffering the same difficulty that he did. Much to his disappointment though, Neji insisted that they push onward. As understandable as it should be, Sasuke was still discouraged to have to keep moving.

As he entered, however, Neji gave them a hand signal to stop.

"What's wrong?" Tenten voiced.

"Someone's beat us here."

"How can you tell?"

"It's hard to spot in low light, but there are traps everywhere," Neji then turned to Sasuke. "Uchiha, use your Sharingan."

He did not need a reiteration. Hastily working his eyes, he opened them and saw small lines of chakra laced around the entrance.

"You say that there are trip wires in the village, but," Sakura began, trying to get a closer look, "I can't even see their reflection off of the low light. Normally, the lines are set up to be invisible during normal daylight but should be easier to spot as the sun moved."

"That's because there are no trip wires," Sasuke interrupted. "These lines are made entirely of chakra." He looked towards Neji. "Is there any way to disarm them?"

"It will take too long," the captain said. "Tenten," the girl nodded, "you're going to have to follow me exactly through these wires. Uchiha, I expect you to do the same for Haruno."

Sasuke nodded before raising a question. "Hyuuga, do you think your cousin put these up?"

"No, she's not good enough," Neji quickly said. "Someone wants to keep others from following them."

"Following them?" Tenten quietly said.

"Someone beat us here," were Neji's solemn words.

---

Traversing the wires was more tedious than difficult and the low light made it more difficult. Their speed was deliberately slow to keep the mistake count at zero. They could not even travel on the rooftops, as it was more heavily rigged than the lower floor. As they made their way through the village, there would be sections where traps would be nonexistent and others that were almost impassable. There would be some dead and battered bodies scattered throughout their path. Whether they were killed by the traps or from fighting would remain a mystery.

Most of the bodies had Rain insignias on them, the closest hidden village to their position. Some came from other villages, but were much fewer in number. Sometimes there would be giant splatters of blood on the ground and walls but no body, as if the person were completely destroyed.

As they neared the building where the ICS was located, the traps became less dense and easier to maneuver through. The body count, however, increased little by little. The amount rose subtly; they did not notice until there was a drastic difference.

"Stop," It was Neji over the radio. "There's someone in front of the building."

"Can you get some sort of identification?"

"Only that it's a male. His back is turned, and it's too dark to make out his uniform."

"Is it safe to engage him?" Sakura asked.

"Unsure. Tenten, see if you can't find a way to take him out from the rooftops. Uchiha, stay here with Haruno and do not move until I say so. I'm going to find another way to the building. Maintain radio silence until I contact you again." And Neji began to move away from them.

It was like any other mission. A sniper would take out threats from a distance as well as cover them in combat while the main team got into position. However, it was taking Neji a long time to find a proper route, and they were beginning to get restless. Had something happened to him?

It was a whole ten minutes before they heard him speak again. "I'm in position." The team relaxed. "Tenten, silence your shot and don't fire until I give you the go ahead."

"… Rifle is silenced," she said.

"Uchiha, Haruno, as soon as Tenten shoots I want you to get inside the building and retrieve our objective as fast as you can. Be sure to bring out the other two as well. Ignore the man standing guard, I will deal with him if I have to and rejoin you later."

"Tenten, are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Fire."

Sasuke began his flight towards the building, with Sakura close behind him. He glanced towards the man. Much to his chagrin, he saw the man deflect the shot into the ground with a concealed sword before engaging his captain. Unfortunately he was still a long ways from the building, as it was across the square that they were in. He faced the building once again.

"Tenten!" he called through the radio, "Is it possible for you to get a second shot at him?"

"Negative, they're too close together, I might- Watch out!"

Looking back at the foe, he realized that he had drawn a pistol and was pointing it at Sakura. In a split second the shot was fired.

Out of reaction, duty, and emotion, Sasuke drew his sword and blocked the shot; Sakura was under his care and he did not intend to fail her.

"Idiot!" he heard Neji yell through the radio. "Don't jeopardize this mission!"

"Sorry, but you gave me a direct order to protect Sakura," He took out one of his pistols. "I don't intend to disobey that order."

"Don't let your feelings get in the way! Get my cousin out of there!"

"Sakura, secure our objective. I'll meet you back out here." He heard some patter of feet and a door opening and closing. He locked eyes with the man. He swore that he could have seen them widen a little before shrinking again. The rest of his face was covered with a cloth.

Neji meanwhile had retreated to a farther distance. "Tenten, shoot him. The situation has gotten out of hand."

A single shot rang out, and the man was immediately flung off his side. Suddenly Sasuke found himself being pulled towards the person and a sudden pain shot up around his shoulder. He dropped his weapons and was sitting up on the ground, nursing the wound.

"What just happened?" Tenten cried over the radio, "Did I hit my teammate?"

"No," Neji grimly replied, "that was a Kawarimi."

Sasuke heard a yell from Tenten but was lifted from behind by his neck. His earpiece fell out, and he could only hear the voice of his assailant. "So, Konoha has been reduced to using illegal methods in such dire times."

He wanted to say something back, but he was having enough trouble breathing as it was.

"So, who is the girl? I'm very sure that Sakura is a first name." His grip tightened. "Are you two lovers? Or an unrequited love, perhaps?"

"That's… none of your… business!" he croaked out.

"Hmph. Learn to keep your emotions far from the battlefield then." He dropped Sasuke to the ground. As he tried to get up, the man kicked him over before stepping on his chest. He grunted in pain; had both of his arms been useful, he could have fought back, but with only one he could only flounder about.

Why weren't his teammates doing something? If he strained his ear, he could faintly hear Neji telling Tenten to hold her fire, as a dangerous hostage situation had come about. They were afraid to shoot and with the little light they had, making out who was who became infinitely harder.

"The password is Uchiha. You'll need that if you want to bring your subject back home. And take care of that bullet wound before you get an infection, it's pierced your bone. I've undone the traps, so get out of here as fast as you can." Looking towards his enemy, he watched as he slowly turned into sand. Standing up, he brushed off the dirt with his good arm and looked back at his wound.

It had stopped bleeding, but there was a visible hole on both sides of him. At least he was given the courtesy that it was not life threatening. Sasuke, however, could not take his mind away from the strange man. It was as if he was protecting their objective. However, his choice of password was strange. Uchiha…

They would be seeing that man again. He was sure of it. But that was not his concern for now. Sakura needed that password. Grabbing his items, he placed his radio back into his ear.

"We need to get going," he said. Just as he turned to the door, Sakura burst out of it.

"I need help. There's some sort of riddle on the… you're hurt."

"I'll be fine," he said. "Remember, our objective is here. We have to bring her home. Lead the way Sakura."

He could faintly hear through the radio on how Neji and Tenten were stationing themselves outside of the building. Sly bastard. Even when he was hurt and possibly disobeyed orders he would give him a shot at Sakura. He, however, did nothing, only following Sakura and nothing more.

"Here we are." She had led him to a computer lock. He examined the screen.

"To which clan does the future belong?" he said out loud.

"There are too many clans to count and I don't want to put in the wrong one in case it would set off the alarm. Do you have any ideas?"

Knowing the answer, he understood the riddle more clearly. His Sharingan allowed him slight clairvoyance when it came to dodging strikes, hence their control of the outcome of a battle. By finding a break in the offense ahead of time, they could counterattack with deadly precision. He entered the password.

"Uchiha?" Sakura murmured to herself. Once Sasuke pressed the enter key, the door to their left opened, revealing Hyuuga Hinata and her subjects resting in a corner. All they had to do was bring them back, and Konoha would be one step closer to an exit.


	9. Turn Around

After almost a whole year (just three months short), I've finally come up with the next chapter for this fic. I apologize for being so late with it, but college was busier than I thought. Thankfully, though, I can say that this chapter should be of good quality. Response time

SilverBlade219: Itachi is a fun character to twist and mold. He's like the character that you can absolutely change and still get interesting results. As for your question of whether Hinata saw the two go crazy or not, it will be expanded upon in the next chapter.

Crazy-Silly-Me: No, that was not Gaara who had gone up against Sasuke's team. If you remember, Gaara was unconscious with Hinata and Naruto.

AN: This chapter was actually a bit hard. I fell a bit short on the description of the areas for a while, but thankfully managed to get over it. This chapter, instead of focusing solely on Naruto or Sasuke, actually combines what the two see and experience. I was unsure if this was a good idea or not, but I feel that the fic has reached a pivotal moment. I know what will happen after this, but I don't know how to format it. The story may continue to do a split point of view, or I may take out one side and focus solely on the other. We'll see how it goes when the time comes.

I would like to thank A very odd fellow and Demon Kaizoku for helping me beta the story.

I do not own Naruto or Gunz.

Onward!

* * *

Chapter 5: Turn Around

Naruto awoke to find himself in what appeared to be some sort of... cell. His body ached all over from who knows what and there was little light besides what came from beneath the cracks of the door. His upper body was leaning against the wall in a sitting position and he noticed that his clothes seemed foreign. Judging from the thin beam of light bouncing off the ground, they were bright orange, loose, and had no pockets on them. He did not feel hungry, but he guessed that he hadn't eaten in a long time and that sooner or later he would want something to eat.

Just where exactly was he? Gaara was nowhere in sight and neither was Hinata. Had they been captured and were being held in separate areas? How long had they, or perhaps just he, been there? He could only barely remember that he was outside the Village of Rain.

He had stayed up much of the night folding leaves, trying to make those leaf food holders Hinata had made earlier. He never knew when it would come in handy one day. But eventually, even he tired of it and he lay down to rest. The next morning they got up, walked to and entered the village, and...

He could recall no more. It was as if a curtain had suddenly fallen; he could just barely remember up to a certain point before everything was lost. What happened, he asked himself. Did something happen to him?

Lost in his own thoughts, he did not even notice that someone had entered the room until he was roughly hoisted up. A light was abruptly shined into his eyes, forcing him to squint and focus on the guest.

"Get up." He had begun to rise slowly but the person spoke again. "Faster." Now that he had risen to his feet, his first instinct was to fend off the attacker. He raised his right hand, but found that both of his hands were bound together with hand cuffs. A little surprised, he soon found himself viciously struck down.

"Don't get any smart ideas now." He heard a gun being pulled out. "Now I want you to get up slowly. Move too quickly and you will get yourself shot." He left out where he would shoot, but Naruto understood a threat when he heard it. Now slowly rising, he saw the guard. "They want you in the interrogation room. Get moving." The guard gestured towards the door and Naruto slowly began to walk out.

Upon exiting, his eyes began to adjust a bit to the light. There were guards on both sides of him, and the hallway was only a little wider than two meters. Both of them walked up and connected a chain to his hand cuffs before leading him away.

As he walked through the hallway, Naruto slowly began to look around. All the doors seemed to have a sheet of paper on them, with a written character on it. Things were still a blur; he could not make it out, but they appeared to be a ward of some sort.

Eventually, he was brought to a room with a single chair in it. "Sit down," one of the guards commanded, and he did so. It must have been the interrogation room that they have been talking about. The guards re-applied the handcuffs, making sure to link it around one of the loops in the chair before leaving the room.

He was alone again. That was, until he heard a voice. "State your name," a gruff voice said. Naruto looked around for a little, trying to see where the voice came from, but was fruitless.

"Who's there?"

"State your name, now."

"No! I want to know what I'm doing here, and then maybe I'll let you know my name."

"That is irrelevant," the voice said. "What matters is that you comply now, or the consequences will not be enjoyable." Out of nowhere, Naruto felt someone punch him across the face. Once he recovered, he looked around for the perpetrator, but he saw only emptiness in the room.

"Your name?"

"...Uzumaki Naruto."

"Mhmm..."

"..."

"Tell us about yourself."

"Excuse me?" the question surprised him.

"Tell us about how you arrived at the Hidden Village of Rain, and why did you take a hostage?"

"Well... someone had directed us to go to the Waterfall Village, but we later changed our course to Rain." He paused for a moment. "As for Hinata, Gaara was going to kill her, but I felt that it was unnecessary. She seemed to know something about us as well, so I took her as a hostage to gather information and use her as a way to keep ourselves alive."

"I see..." There was a short silence. "Are you thirsty?"

"...Yes."

"Bring him some water." A guard opened the door and brought in a glass and a pitcher of water. Pouring some out, he brought the cup to his lips and let him drink.

Naruto had not realized how thirsty he was. "Thank you," he said. He was, however, now more confused about why they were treating him in this manner.

"We're going to be talking about a lot of things," the voice said. "I would like you to be as comfortable as possible while we hold our discussion."

--

Having arrived in Konoha late last night, Sasuke would have enjoyed nothing more than returning home to rest. Procedure, however, required that he report the success of his mission as well as be debriefed.

This mission, however, drew more attention than he wished. With both the Hyuuga heiress and the suspects returning with him, the entire team had to go through the debriefing immediately. This would be the second time in such a short period in which he was debriefed. Yet he could not stop thinking about Sakura. She was going through a difficult point in her life; he wondered just how much she could take before crumbling.

She had another debriefing. Where she displayed difficulty in Suna, she appeared fine back at home. She easily retold what happened, answered whatever questions she was asked, and then walked home, appearing fine.

He wanted to see her. He was worried about just what would happen to the two suspects, but he was more worried about Sakura. Normally, he would leave her alone after each mission that they had together. He knew that she enjoyed her privacy. Sometimes, during his latter teen years, he would follow her. It was just to make sure that she was alright, a lie he told himself constantly back then. But he knew it was caused by the rapid changes in his body at the time. He craved, lusted for her body. The day that she finally succumbed to his subtle approaches would be the day that he could call himself a true man.

The streets were empty as he walked down the path towards her apartment. Night had fallen as the debriefing process took much longer than usual and having seen just the opposite in Suna, the calm of night left a feeling of home in him. No longer in foreign territory, he could relax behind the walls of the city, free of the careful eyes of the Suna shinobi. Yet he couldn't. Sakura was, and always would be, he concluded, on his mind.

This would be the first time that he had openly visited her apartment. Normally he would watch from a vantage point. But tonight, he was walking up the stairs into the first floor. His heart beat faster than when at gunpoint; he had never gotten this close to where she lived. Stepping into an elevator, he pushed the button and waited. As it traveled upwards, his mind began to fill with thoughts. It began to create scenarios, ranging from the most likely to the most improbable.

What if this was where the relationship changed from one-sided to mutual? Would she realize that, while not obvious, he had been doing his best to help her?

What if he got lucky tonight?

The elevator's bell shook him from his thoughts. Walking down the hallway, he stopped at room 541. He took a breath. He closed and reopened his eyes. Raising one hand to the door, he began to knock.

Right as he was about to strike the door though, fear struck him. What if she displayed something other than acceptance? Ideas of rejection began to fall into place, and suddenly, talking to Sakura didn't feel like such a wise idea anymore and he was beginning to lose his nerve.

--

"Are you sure that he's telling the truth?" Tsunade asked.

"At the moment, yes Hokage-sama. Their stories appear to support each other. While we cannot rule out the fact that they may have been told to tell that story, when we pressured them they remained consistent with the facts."

"That only tells us that they're good shinobi, not good at heart."

"I understand, but they both seem to be telling the truth."

"What about the Hyuuga's story? Do they match?"

"Everything seems to be in order."

"Hm…" she thought for a moment. "Let me talk to him." With a nod, the interrogator pressed a button, opening a door into the room.

Naruto, as they had learned what his name was, appeared apprehensive. Having finally seen someone who did not appear to be a guard seems to have put him into a defensive mode.

"You can relax, Naruto. We're not going to do anything to you." The youth only steeled his appearance more. "As we know so far," Tsunade began to pace around the room, "you found yourself in the desert, bumped into Hinata, and then eventually headed towards the Village of Rain, where your memory ends before finding yourself here. Do you know who I am?" He shook his head. "I am the Hokage of this nation. I hold the highest office and control much of the power within the state."

"Do you happen to know where you are?" He cautiously shook his head once again. "You're in the highest security prison that we have." She turned and faced him, a small smile on her lips. "Do you want to know why?"

"… Yes."

"You are being held in here because you are being charged with killing three of the most powerful shinobi in the land." Naruto was silent before her. "Several days ago," she continued, "those three were assassinated. They were the leaders of their own separate lands, each one a powerful state. There was an assassination attempt on another similar shinobi, but luckily it was prevented."

"We've started to receive identification pictures from all three of the afflicted nations, and you two matched the profiles. The pictures also identified Konoha forehead protectors on you. Can you explain yourselves?" She began to pace again.

"… How can we be at four places at once?"

"People will conjure up powerful stories about those stronger than them. They will not hesitate to say that you have abilities far beyond that of normal shinobi."

"What about the protectors?"

"I wish to know about that as well." She thought to herself. "Our head interrogator believes that you and your partner are telling the truth." Naruto smiled for a moment. "I am willing to say that there is some kind of conspiracy going on, as I am not one to believe that you can be in four places at once."

"But then how do you explain the… destruction of Rain?"

She turned away from him for a moment. "We don't know how it happened or when the next one will occur. I do not want that to happen to Konoha. If it were, one of the strongest nations will be reduced to little more than rubble. The people on the outskirts will be safe from the effect, but the capital will be gone. We would have no choice but to surrender. Believe it or not, we are already preparing for war. If another situation like that is to occur, we would like for it to happen far away from home." She turned to face him again. "I want to know just what is going on here, and I believe that your cooperation will help us."

"...Why do you want me to help you?"

"I believe that, judging from what you have told me, you two are something different, beyond human almost. If you help us, we may save not only this country, but also let you off the hook."

"…"

"What do you think?"

"What if I refuse?"

"You two will be handed over to the other three countries and they will do with you as they want. They will most likely execute you, or worse."

"And if I accept?"

"We will enlist you as one of our shinobi. You will be given almost all the rights of a shinobi, except that you will be under heavy surveillance at nearly all times. We will also further investigate what is going on with cooperation from Suna."

"… I suppose I don't have much of a choice, right?"

"The choices were decided by the actions of other countries, not me. I'm assuming that you will comply with us, then?" Naruto cautiously nodded. "Very well then," taking out a set of keys, she removed the restraints on him, "You and Gaara will be coming with me then."

She headed out of the interrogation room. "Do keep in mind, however, that I have the best intentions for this nation above all other things right now. It is my duty to prevent it from being taken over. If I have any reason to believe that you are indeed responsible for what has happened, then I will hand you over without hesitation. Am I understood?"

"Yes… Hokage-sama."

--

It had taken a lot for Sasuke to get the courage to finally knock on Sakura's door. There was much pacing, contemplating, worrying, but he decided that he would rather try this than not at all. Walking up to the door, he took a breath.

He took another breath, ruffled his hair a little bit.

He took one more breath. Finally, after a very prolonged pause, he knocked on the door. He intended to put down three solid knocks, hide the fact that he was nervous. Such a solid knocking would definitely gather her attention from whatever she was doing.

However, when he landed the first blow, the door slowly creaked open.

His first thought was to go in and see if she was there. Maybe she was busy with something that he could help her with. Maybe she was resting and accidentally left the door open. Eventually, his thoughts turned to more cautious ones. No matter how tired Sakura may have been, she always made the point that she trusted no one. She was extremely anti-social and she would have closed the door if anything. Something was wrong here.

Taking out his pistol he entered the apartment, scanning each area with intense scrutiny. While there was nothing much out of the ordinary, he couldn't truly say what was normal or not; he had never been inside her apartment. Anything that seemed strange could have just been personal taste. The kitchen held no non-perishables and he thought that Sakura preferred fresh foods. However, when he opened the refrigerator, there was little besides eggs and milk.

Deeming that the kitchen led nowhere, he headed towards the living room. There was a couch that looked a little dusty and a small drawer by the side. There was not very much light, but Sasuke did not dare turn on a lamp. He wanted to attract as little attention as possible, in case there was someone in the area. He noticed that there was a picture frame lying face down on a small tabletop. Silently, he turned it back up and found that the picture was marred.

It showed Sakura as a child between two adults, which he assumed were her parents. However, their faces were torn out. Placing the frame back down, Sasuke suddenly realized that the apartment was very large for just one person. Was it shared by someone else? Going down the adjacent hallway, he encountered a locked door at the very end on the left side. He wondered why the door was locked. It could not have been a bathroom, as there was no light coming from beneath the door and an unoccupied bathroom was never locked.

He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to sense if anyone was inside…

No one. Taking out a lock pick, he unlocked the door, prepared his gun, and let chakra creep out from his feet. He sent it into the room, to see if there were any traps. There were none, however, and he opened the door.

There was faint moonlight coming in from the window. It illuminated only a patch of ground with what looked like small droplets of dried blood. The ground looked dusty, as if no one had been in here for a long, long time. He took a step in, but felt something soft beneath his foot. His eyes having adjusted a little to the dim light, he took a look underneath and saw a white feather.

Very carefully, he felt the wall for a switch and turned the lights on and let out a gasp. He was in a master bedroom that was turned into a nightmare.

The bedding was slashed. Stuffing and feathers were spewed out on the ground like blood. The window drapes were in tatters, rags barely fit for even a thin blanket. The ground was scratched, long claw-like marks having dug trenches onto the wooden floor. The walls were similarly scratched, long vertical cuts marring the white paint and the wood beneath it. The window, he suddenly realized, was broken and the nearby flooring was beginning to show signs of rot. The light source came from an old lamp that was lying on the ground, the light bulb having miraculously survived the fall. The furniture was in general disarray, table legs chopped off and drawers broken in half. Clothes were tossed onto the ground and torn into pieces.

All pictures were destroyed beyond recognition.

It took Sasuke a short moment for his heart to stop pounding. When he regained his senses, he noticed that there were small prints of blood on the ground. Taking a closer look, he realized that it were small footprints, but only the top half of one foot, leading out of the room. Apparently, no one was killed, but someone was hurt. He had no clue when, but he guessed that it was at the same time the room was slashed. He turned off the lights and left the room, being sure to lock the door.

He was sure that Sakura wasn't in here anymore, as she would have heard his gasp and come out. He quickly walked to another door in the hallway and opened it. It was the bathroom. He looked for things that were missing, and noticed that there was no soap, toothbrush, or other hygienic items. Hastily leaving the bathroom, he ran to the last room, which he assumed was her room. It was her sanctuary, the place where she could be alone to herself and not be interrupted by anyone. It was like treading on sacred ground.

He had dreams of this room. What it looked like, what Sakura looked like when no one was around, and especially of what he would have liked to do if he could have had just one night alone with Sakura. He would cradle her in his arms, whisper to her that it would be alright. Softly lay her down on the bed, kiss her, caress her, slowly strip off their clothing. Take her, gently, slowly, tenderly. Break down the wall that she had set up between herself and everyone else. And when it was all done, they would do it again.

How many times had he replayed the scenario in his head? Hundreds, no doubt. Each time it might have been a little different, but each time the ending would be the same; they would do it again. Was the opportunity still there, or had it closed its doors to him permanently?

Leaving no time to answer the question, he forcefully turned the knob and thrust the door open. The place was neat and tidy, a complete binary when compared to the master bedroom. Everything was neat and in order. The walls held little more than some posters which dictated many of the important rules of being a shinobi and a clock hung from a nail, reading eleven thirty-five PM. The drawers were clean and appeared untouched. The bed had few, if any, nuances which would otherwise depict a scene.

However, Sasuke took a closer look. He understood that Sakura had been on a mission for almost more than a week now. There should have been a fine layer of dust if the place was untouched. Approaching the drawer, he looked closely and saw handprints. Covering them with his hands, he opened each drawer and tried to take notice of what was missing. It was impossible, however; he did not know just how much clothing Sakura had. Each drawer was neat and organized; each one held a separate article of clothing.

It felt awkward looking at the drawers that held her panties and bras. He quickly closed them but not before noting that they were of various colors, just not pink.

He turned towards her bed. All off-duty shinobi had some sort of firearm in their home, as it was required by law. It was to remain loaded and not be taken on missions. If it was somewhere in the apartment, this would be where it would be. Taking a look at the bed, he noticed that there were some stress points where he assumed that Sakura had put a part of her weight on. The pillow seemed a little off center. Lifting it up, there was nothing underneath it. Looking around, he made sure that there were no other major disturbances in the room. The dust leading to the closet was unmoved and the footprints ended at the bed.

It was clear that Sakura left the apartment and was most likely heading towards the nearest exit.

--

Naruto was reunited with Gaara once more. They had just been in the unfamiliar supply room and were now standing in front of the Hokage. Both of them were given the option of defection and both had taken it.

"I hope that both of you have gathered enough supplies for the mission," she said to them.

"We took what we could," Naruto replied. Gaara, being the less social one, simply nodded.

"Very well then. Understand that the mission that you are about to undertake is highly classified. Both the Kazekage and I have not released the pictures of the assassins to the public, meaning that you can walk freely in Konoha and Suna. However, there is no doubt that the other nations will be looking for you."

"Our investigation teams have found that at the ruins you two found yourself at, there is evidence to believe that there were numerous tests, many of them possibly bordering that of illegal or inhumane. You are to head to the other facilities and see if you can gather any further information about whatever project was going on in there. Report back when you find anything. Both of you should have a radio on you somewhere. Do not touch the frequency dial."

"Konoha Jounins will know who you are and will be given orders to assist you if needed. Be warned, however, that they will also apprehend you if we have reason to believe that you two have become malignant. You are to head north until you reach the Kasa Corporation's weapons facility nearby. Infiltrate it and gather as much information as possible. Your mission starts at midnight in one hour and you start at the North Gate. You are dismissed."

--

Sasuke followed the south path through Konoha. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, looking for any tuft of pink hair that would give away Sakura. He had to find her before she left the village. The Southern Gate was the closest one to where she lived. He guessed that if she wanted to leave the area as quickly as possible, this would be the path that she would take.

The streets were empty save for the lone civilian every now and then, but he ignored them. They would only see a quickly passing blur of blue and black, almost an illusion in the night. Please, he thought, please still be here.

If he did not find her and she left, she would be marked as a Missing Nin, a criminal. He would be unsure of her danger ranking, but he doubted that it would be high. But still, leaving the village without orders was punishable by death. It was something that he could not bear to think of.

Then he saw it. It was at first just a flash of pink in the distance, her hair, barely waving above her shoulders. But as he closed in, he knew that he wasn't imagining it. Sakura was still here.

He called out to her. "Sakura-san!"

She paused, but did not turn around. He came to a stop. "Sakura-san, you're not… planning to leave the village, are you?"

Her shoulders rose and fell. "Uchiha… I did not expect to see you here tonight, nor for you to see me."

There was something about her tone that was different.

"I came by your place to see if you were alright after the debriefing. The door was opened and I became worried that-"

"Did you enter the master bedroom?" She was using the tone she used back in the Suna hospital; the harsh edge that he was so used to hearing had disappeared.

"… Yes," he truthfully answered. "…It was like I walked into a nightmare."

She paused for a bit. "On the night that my parents were executed, I entered the room and did all that. I destroyed everything that belonged to my parents. I hated them for what they had done, and the circumstances that I came to live under. I was betrayed by my own blood."

"Everyone knows the story, Sakura-san." He lied. No one knew that she destroyed the room. "Your parents were intending to give away information that would have lead to the destruction of the village. There was nothing that could be done."

"Everyone knows what they were told."

"It was talked about for years to come, and you were only six at that time." He knew because he was there right before on the night that her parents were apprehended and summarily rushed to the execution.

"You don't understand." Her words shot through him. "I was betrayed by my own blood. Since you entered the master bedroom, I believe that you saw the bloodstains on the ground."

It hit him. "… That was your own, wasn't it?"

"Yes, that was my own blood. I hated how such blood, blood that belonged to dirt that was my mother and father, flowed in me." She mentioned her parents with such malice. It was the first time he ever heard her talk about them. "I wanted to get rid of it and I cut myself." She rolled up her left sleeve to her shoulders and revealed a long horizontal scar on the outside of it.

"I was young and didn't cut it right. It hurt so badly that I couldn't carry through with it. It bled onto a small puddle and in my pain I stepped on it without realizing."

He was biting his lip and his fists clenched. He did his best to relax while she continued. "When my rage had passed, I had begun to think. In order to be betrayed, there are certain requirements that must be met. First there is the victim, and then there is the person that the victim trusted. I believed that if I could remove the perpetrator from the equation, I could never be betrayed again and I decided to live my life in seclusion."

"I don't understand," Sasuke interrupted. He didn't have to hear her say that she was leaving; he knew it. "Why would you leave Konoha when you have already secluded yourself from it? Are you saying that you're not satisfied with what you have?" He was becoming angry. At what he did not know, but he was angry. The thought of her leaving began to take its toll on him. He, who had put her on a pedestal, watched out for her, cautiously made sure that she was okay, would in the end be betrayed by the one he loved.

She took a breath. "On the night that we saved the Kazekage, I was betrayed by Yakushi Kabuto."

Kabuto. The name seemed far off and distant now that Sasuke knew of his involvement. When he mentioned the name during the debriefing and how it was he that attempted to take the Kazekage's life, a warrant of arrest was given out. However, he was away on a mission. There was no doubt that whoever he was working for had managed to pull him away from the place, or perhaps he had yet to return from one of his own mission that was assigned a while ago. He could care less about Kabuto's status as a traitor, however. He only saw that he was someone that caused Sakura pain. "…That was why you suffered from the nervous breakdown, wasn't it?"

"I thought that I had put up enough barriers between myself and other people. However, I was proven wrong by the fact that just by working in the same institution, I could be betrayed. I didn't have to know the person very well."

"So you're leaving Konoha to escape from this?" It was almost silly. "If you leave us, wouldn't it be the same as betraying us?"

"I have thought about that, Uchiha," her voice remained calm, "and I believe that in order for me to maintain my own peace, I must leave. If I am to be seen as a traitor, then so be it."

"You're being selfish!" he exclaimed. "…What about me?" he said, his voice beginning to tremble. He tried to still himself, but he knew that he already gave himself away and he had a feeling that she knew as well. "Would you betray me too?"

"I understand that you have done a lot to try to accommodate me." He was stunned by this. "I noticed your stares at me ever since the night my parents were killed. I don't know when or why you started caring, but I noticed that when all the other children at the academy picked fights with me, you took my side. You took it willingly. When the other children saw me as filth, you saw me as an equal, someone worth protecting and caring for."

Why did he start caring for her? He asked himself this many times, but he always had difficulty answering.

"I'm going to leave the village, Uchiha. I believe that you will come after me, so I ask that you do not." She turned and began to walk away. She paused and looked over her shoulder. "I doubt, however, that you will take my request."

"I'm not going to let you leave!" he yelled. His emotions had begun to break through in his attempt to stop her. "I…" he had trouble bringing himself to say it, to someone who was going to betray him right after. "I…"

"I know what you're going to say, Uchiha." She turned away and began to leave. "You do not have to say it." Sasuke immediately began to give chase, but he discovered that as he ran, the distance between the two became further and further apart. He stopped, realizing that he had been caught in a genjutsu. Creating a seal, he was going to break it but he felt something holding onto his hands. Looking, he found that Sakura was now in front of him, holding onto his hands with hers. His heart pounded.

"In Suna, you asked me what my favorite memory was. It took me a while to come up with an answer, but I have made up my mind." Pulling his hands towards her, she made him come forward to keep his balance.

When he looked into her eyes, there was something else behind it for the first time in many years. Was it happiness? "My favorite memory was the moment before I found out that my parents were executed, when you helped me touch the sky."

It was from that night. He saw that glint in her eyes that night, that glint that hid itself until now.

"Goodbye, Sasuke-kun." She leaned in and kissed him, and it was the kiss that he always dreamed it would be: soft, deep, luscious, wet, wanton, innocent, everything.

--

When Sasuke had regained consciousness, he found himself in an empty training field. He sat up quickly and scanned the area around him. It was like he had just woken up from a nightmare, but in truth he had woken up in one. Sakura was gone. He wanted to scream, scream because it hurt to live with the reality. She knew that he wanted the best for her, and yet she still left. He tried to walk, to leave the field and head back to report the incident, but he found himself too weak with emotion. He fell to the ground and wailed, screamed, cried.

He wondered about why he cared for her, why he had done so much for her in the past. Of all the people, he chose one of the potentially worst people to fall in love with. Why did everyone separate themselves from her while he pushed to get close? What did he see in her that everyone else did not?

It was that glint. He wanted to see something that was no longer visible in her. That glint, that little spark of hope and happiness. It was what drove him to where he is now, to try to see her become alive again. And he had seen it. It was like a glimmer of gold, something that hinted that there was more to it and that if he pursued it enough, it could be his and his alone.

When he was finally able to, he picked himself up and ran to the Hokage's office. He had to speak with her. He dare not go through the process of listing her as a Missing Nin – that would not only lose more time, but it would also put her life in more danger than it already was in.

When he arrived at the building, he raced through it. He cared less about security, and how they were now chasing after him. He just had to see her. When he arrived, he thrust opened the door and entered the office.

"Hokage-sama!" He was ragged. "I have to speak with you!"

"Uchiha, I have papers to file. It is one in the morning and you should be resting, considering what you have recently been through," she did not even look up from her work as she dismissed his request. He was suddenly held up by the ANBU, their guns pointing at him.

"I hope that you haven't been doing anything dangerous, Uchiha," she warned Sasuke, still not looking up. "What has he done so far, captain?" she addressed the security team.

"He entered without prior permission. He did not even tell us where he was going and so we took the necessary procedures."

"Please, Hokage-sama, this is important!" he begged of her.

"Is it more important than these papers that I'm working on?"

He had to pick his words carefully. "…It concerns the mission that I was just on."

She looked up and studied his face for a moment. "Unhand him and leave," she told the captain. A little surprised, the team disbanded and left. She then turned to him. "Close the door. Anything concerning the previous mission is highly classified and we do not want information to leak out. Now then, what do you want to tell me?"

"It concerns Haruno Sakura. She's left the village."

"…You've been crying, Uchiha," she said. "Your eyes are puffed up. Be sure to wash your face with a warm towel after this, it will help the swelling go down."

"That's not the point!"

"It has everything to do with your point. A shinobi must take control of his or her emotions and cannot let it take over." He gritted his teeth.

"Why are you lecturing me?" he almost yelled. "Sakura is gone now! We've just lost a soldier at crucial time!"

There was a small pause. "I know why you're here." He remained silent. "You want me to give you permission to go out after her, am I correct?" She did not have to wait for him to respond. "Uchiha, I do not have time to deal with a problem like this. Haruno, after the execution of her parents, has always been a difficult case to deal with. She secludes herself and causes worry for teammates for not only her life, but their own as well. Tell me, what makes you think that she is worth recovering? She is a loose gun, a danger not only to herself but also to us. Konoha does not need someone like that."

He was ready to burst, angry at how they could not view Sakura as a person, but only as a thing, a problem. "She is not a danger to us." He did his best to stay calm. "I believe that with enough help, we can return her to a more stable mind."

"And how do you propose we do it?"

He could not answer her question. The Hokage returned to her work. "How valuable is she to you?"

"… Very."

"If things turned out for the best, where do you see Haruno and yourself in the future?"

"… Married."

"I see…" She pulled out a blank scroll and started writing on it. When she was finished, she turned it around and let him read it. "I'm giving you an A-ranked mission." He tensed when he first heard her speak, but he later relaxed. "You are to find and bring back Haruno Sakura with whatever means necessary. For your sake, I will allow you to bring her back alive. But if you cannot subdue her or change her mind, then you are to kill her."

The end left him silent.

"Your mission starts at seven in the morning. You are dismissed."

* * *

Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long. Hang tight.


End file.
